As a non-governmental Organisation (NGO) we receive no official funding and our members volunteer their skills and time.
Our primary objectives are the relief of human suffering and distress in any part of the world resulting from disaster of any kind and the protection and preservation of human life. We achieve this by deploying suitably trained and experienced search and rescue response teams whenever we receive a request for assistance. We do not charge for this service.
Our members have over 20 years experience in disaster rescue work and are amongst the most experienced disaster response personnel in the UK. RAPID UK is a UK representative of, and accredited to, the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG).
Although we are best known for our search and rescue work in the aftermath of sudden onset disasters, two-thirds of our effort goes into overseas training. We frequently return to countries where we have deployed in an emergency to provide training to expand their capacity to mitigate the effects of future disasters. This can vary from training specialist search and rescue teams to increasing communities' and officials' risk awareness. Details of where we have conducted such training can be found in the Deployments Section.
We have also assisted in the donation of redundant UK emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire engines, to other countries.
