 Rapid Rescue
In any medical emergency, time is of the essence, with the first four minutes often meaning the difference between life and death. ZAKA paramedics, on call every hour of every day and deployed around the country, are ready to offer immediate emergency assistance and in the shortest possible response time (often even before the arrival of the first ambulance).
 Rapid Rescue Motorcycle Unit
The Rapid Rescue Motorcycle Unit was established by ZAKA volunteers to deal with the many disasters and tragedies that require a faster response time in order to save lives. The unit is comprised of over 160 motorcycles and hundreds of volunteers who have taken various courses in first aid, including senior paramedics, ambulance drivers and even doctors. Every volunteer carries a beeper and communications equipment at all times, so that he can immediately be located by the ZAKA hotline and deployed to the scene of the incident.
In many cases, these volunteers are often the first to arrive on the scene, thanks to their dispersion throughout the country. As soon as they receive notification of the incident, they quite simply drop everything and rush to the scene as soon as possible in order to offer the injured that first and vital professional medical attention.
The death of a baby. The birth of the ZAKA Rapid Rescue Motorcycle Unit
On the eve of Succot 2001, the MDA hotline received a call about a baby who had suffered a head injury at Jerusalem's Four Species Market. Despite the wailing sirens, the ambulance found it difficult to negotiate the jammed narrow streets leading to the incident. By the time the medics eventually arrived, it was too late to save the baby.
As a result of this incident, ZAKA established Israel's first Rapid Rescue Motorcycle Unit, with the objective of providing the fastest possible response to medical emergencies, thereby saving precious minutes that can save lives. The motorcycles maneuver between the traffic jams, arriving quickly at the scene of the incident and without any parking problems.
The innovative unit very quickly became a model to be copied. The mobility, advanced technology and the fast and professional medical treatment are all proven factors in saving hundreds of lives. In June 2007, ZAKA began using 3G cameras, attached to the rear of the Rapid Rescue motorcycles and with the ability to broadcast real time images from emergency incidents to doctors at the ER department of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. This use of advanced technology allows medical specialists to instruct the ZAKA volunteers on the scene how best to deal with complicated injuries, thereby saving lives.
Fire Extinguishing Motorcycle Unit
These motorcycles are equipped with special water guns that use kinetic energy (pulses) to fire a litre of water at a speed of 430 kilometres per hour. The water extinguishes the fire in a short space of time, often ahead of the fire service. |
