MOAS is working in the framework of Disaster Risk Reduction, providing partner organizations with technical advice and consultancy services. MOAS’ Emergency Preparedness and Response specialists developed bespoke training and unique tools to respond to the issues posed by water and fire in refugee camps worldwide.
MOAS has built a reputation for solutions-orientated Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) since 2019: we deliver Flood and Water Safety Training and the Fire Response Training to refugees and host community volunteers.
The MOAS team deliver expert technical support to many organisations, providing solutions for the safety of the refugee population, host community, and humanitarian workers.
Fire Safety and Response
Fires are a persistent and terrifying threat to those living in camps for refugees and displaced people across the world. Refugee and IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps are generally over-crowded, haphazardly erected and constructed of highly flammable materials, such as tarpaulin and plastic. Many of those facing protracted displacement are extremely vulnerable to fire with limited access to fire-fighting resources. This makes the spread of fire incredibly fast and lethal, causing death and devastation.
Traditionally fire extinguishers have long been used as the go-to fire-fighting tool in humanitarian responses around the world, but as the series of devastating blazes were witnessed in several refugee camps worldwide highlight, they are often simply not up to the job. It is important to understand of how fire behaves in these settlements, what affects fire spread and how we may best suppress it to save life and prevent loss – that is what MOAS did.
In response to the increasing frequency and severity of fire outbreaks in crowded refugee camps, MOAS developed a one-of-a-kind Disaster Risk Reduction project for Fire Safety and Response.
MOAS’ initiative addresses the life-threatening dangers posed by fires and is deploying easily transportable Mobile Firefighting Units, whilst our technical experts train volunteers in fire response.
We developed different tools that allow responders to carry the water into the camps to pump or that are portable pumps that people can either wheel or carry and place them next to a water container to draw water and fight the fire.
Flood and Water Safety Training
Drowning is the second leading cause of childhood injury-related deaths worldwide and the most common cause of injury-related deaths among children under 5 years old. According to the WHO, an estimated 236,000 people drown every year around the world. Over half of drowning deaths are among those under the age of 30, with the highest drowning rates among those between the age of 1 and 4.
Climate change has particularly increased the scale and frequency of flood disasters, which in turn led to an increased risk of drowning, particularly in low-income countries and areas with unplanned urbanization, something often common within refugee and IDP camps.
Since 2019 we have been focused on Flood and Water Safety, training over 3000 volunteers in globally recognised flood and water rescue techniques and providing technical expertise and support to local partners.
This training creates resilience against water-related risks, but also supports self-development, not only by providing volunteers will skills and equipment but also by improving leadership and teamwork practices, thus strengthening capacity building. These programs also provide livelihoods to local tailors who make the safety equipment and receive up-skilling as part of the project.
MOAS not only creates the tools but adapts them for use in specific country contexts and supports the in-country partners in using them to implement extensive programming to reduce the risks and respond to incidents in real-world contexts.
Our in-country capability covers many aspects of technical rescue including surf, flood, wilderness medicine, basic USAR, confined space, and working at height.