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Midlands Cave Rescue Organisation (MCRO) is formed
from local cavers and mine explorers who are willing to voluntarily assist
others who may be lost or injured in the caves and mines of the
West Midlands,
Shropshire and beyond. Our remit for rescue extends to any underground void and
includes people and animals, excluding coal mines.
The rescue team consists of 6 wardens and about 25 members, mainly from Dudley Caving Club (DCC) and Shropshire Caving and Mining Club (SCMC). The team has two rescue stores, held by DCC and SCMC which contains a variety of equipment including stretchers, rope access gear, hauling equipment, surface radios, underground radios and telephones, warm air re-breathing equipment, bolting equipment, casualty evacuation bags, etc.
The Team is called to an incident by the Police, who having received a call for assistance, will contact one of the MCRO Rescue Wardens who in turn call out team members. Team members can be called any time of the day or night and undertake training in all aspects of the technical and medical requirements of underground search and rescue.
Although the area we cover is comprised mainly of old mine workings, we have been very fortunate in that there has not been a major incident in our area for a number of years. One of MCRO’s main roles is as a backup team to other CRO’s and as a result of this we are called out to provide assistance to other teams and we regularly practice with other local CRO’s. Each year MCRO provides training on different aspects of cave rescue above and below ground for experienced cavers.