Scottish firefighters face ‘intense’ conditions in Venezuela earthquake response

A trio of Scottish firefighters who are helping rescue efforts following the earthquakes in Venezuela are facing “intense” conditions as they try to locate casualties.

The three firefighters are in the South American nation as part of the UK’s international search-and-rescue response, which includes staff from 14 different fire services.

Station commander Gavin Brown, crew commander Ian Hodgson and firefighter Brian Richards travelled to Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes on June 24.

More than 2,000 people are confirmed to have died amid widespread devastation in the north of the country.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue service says the team are dealing with challenging circumstances as they try to locate people who may be trapped in collapsed buildings.

Speaking from Venezuela, Mr Brown said: “There are personnel from a range of fire and rescue services across the UK and the ability to work together in a close-knit environment and adapt to any scenario has been incredibly important.

“Drawing on the skills we use in our day-to-day roles has enabled us to work effectively as a team and get the job done.”

Mr Hodgson told the BBC the team had been using listening devices to detect “saveable lives” and identify how far away casualties are.

Group commander Andy Buchan is the UK international search and rescue (ISAR) team manager in Scotland.

He said: “Our firefighters remain in Venezuela supporting ongoing search-and-rescue operations as part of the wider UK ISAR response.

“The commitment, professionalism and resilience shown by everyone involved has been outstanding.

“What our team are experiencing during this deployment is intense.

“The scale of the devastation they have encountered is unlike anything they would face in their day-to-day duties back home and they are dealing with those challenging circumstances every day throughout their deployment.”

He continued: “We continue to assess and support our firefighters before, during and after deployment to ensure their needs and overall wellbeing are being met, and that they have access to the right support at every stage of the process.”

Published: 04/07/2026 by Radio NewsHub