Welcome to our new look website. Firstly, I would like to thank Kelly for all the work she has put into setting up this site. Kelly had done some fancy coding to make the content management system and the static pages working side by side. The result is that it is now much easier for us to update the content and the news on our site.
There is still some more work to do, such as publishing the old articles onto the new site and updating some of the information, especially the USAR section. So please come back from time to time and check up on the latest development of our organisation.

ASSDA had been requested by the MFB to assist with the provision of an USAR K9 search capability for the duration of the Commonwealth Games from the 15th to the 26th March 2006.

In response to this request, ASSDA accepted this responsibilty and put on standby for deployment the following teams:

Testing ASSDA’s current capability in an operational environment
Report By Alex Withers
Firefighter / South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service(SAMFS)
ASSDA member

ASSDA and my self as a member of ASSDA were invited by the Melbourne Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFESB) to participate in an 8 day USAR exercise “Labyrinth 2003” at the Maygar Army Barracks in Broadmeadows /Melbourne.

The task given to ASSDA was to supply the USAR search dog teams to assist the USAR task forces of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in their efforts to locate trapped victims at the disaster site. Indeed ASSDA was the only K9 capability present at the national exercise.

For most of the USAR task forces this was their first opportunity to work with dedicated USAR SAR dog teams in Australia. It was also a first for the members of ASSDA to work with USAR rescue teams in an operational exercise and demonstrate dedicated USAR search dog capabilities to the Australian USAR task forces.