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escue measures by about 20-25%. Th e remaining 35-40% need to be dealt with by the
organization of civil defence units.
Th e prospects of organizing and manning civil defence units and headquarters are
realistic if they would require the involvement of about 5% of the population, i.e., slightly
in excess of 20,000 able-bodied persons, taking due account of the requirements of the
SVK, MUP, republican bodies and organizations, local government bodies, companies
and other legal entities. Manning problems can occur with respect to units requiring
mentally and physically healthy persons, i.e., conscripts (units for rescue from ruins,
fi re-fi ghting units, units for radiological-chemical-biological protection, and units for
the inactivation and destruction of unexploded ordnance). Th is problem can be resolved
by double assignment - the person involved can be under a compulsory work order and,
if required, assigned to a protection and rescue civil defence unit or supervisory body.
A similar problem can be expected in the supply of standard materiel (intended mainly
for SVK units).
Solutions need to be sought in cooperation with the respective commands and agencies
supervising persons under compulsory work orders.
Depending on the assessment of consequences, municipalities should try to organize
universal civil defence units in every settlement.
Units responsible for rescue from ruins need to be set up on the basis of the assessed
number of persons buried in ruins and of the quantity of material to be cleared or
removed from the roads or streets. Due regard should be taken of the fact that the period
of 3 days (72 hours) is the optimum time for purposeful and effi cient rescue. Moreover,
rescue operations must not be interrupted but carried out on a continuous basis, i.e., in
three shift s.
Th e calculation of the necessary number of rescue workers is based on the conditional
time required for rescuing one person:
- shallowly buried two hours
- moderately buried fi ve hours
- deeply buried twelve hours
Th e calculated needs with regard to the number of rescue workers will infl uence the kind
and composition of the civil defence unit to be organized. In principle, universal civil
defence units will be used in the rescue of shallowly and moderately buried persons, and
specialized units for rescue from ruins in rescuing deeply buried persons. Th e training of
units for rescue from ruins (and ruin clearance) will depend on the availability of local
construction enterprises, municipal services or similar companies with the required
number of skilled employees (masons, carpenters, electricians, joiners, plumbers,
construction machine operators, drivers etc.) and the respective equipment and tools,
and on the number of craft smen and other citizens who could be engaged in ruin
clearance.
Th e organization of radiological-chemical-biological protection units needs to be considered
primarily in terms of the consequences of a possible chemical accident in a specifi c
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