‘It was humbling, these people have lost everything’: Horsham firefighter returns from Nepal

Owen Marfany thought of his daughters back home in Horsham when he found a young girl seriously injured after the earthquake in Nepal.

The firefighter, part of the UK International Search and Rescue team (UKISAR), was deployed to the Asian country to help the relief effort after the disaster last month.

Speaking to the County Times just a few hours after landing back in the UK on Wednesday May 6, Owen said the ten days he spent in Nepal were a ‘rollercoaster’.

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And no moment was more emotional than when he met a seven-year-old girl, the same age as his eldest daughter, who suffered two broken hips in the earthquake.

He said: “When we found her she had been lying in bed for seven days.

“We drove her across the country to the hospital and they took her in. It was a life-changing injury.”

It is believed more than 8000 people died and 18,000 were injured after the earthquake on April 25.

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The following day, a six-strong team from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service that included Owen, 46, flew to Nepal as part of UKISAR, after the emergency unit was mobilised by the United Nations.

Damaged hospital in Kathmandu made safe by West Sussex teamDamaged hospital in Kathmandu made safe by West Sussex team
Damaged hospital in Kathmandu made safe by West Sussex team

After setting up camp in the grounds of the British Embassy in Kathmandu, the team got to work - helping the injured, setting up field hospitals and restoring an unsafe hospital to full capacity.

Owen said: “What is amazing is seeing the Nepalese people and how resilient they are.

“It was incredible, a humbling experience - these people have lost everything but are trying to offer you food and water when you go to help them.

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“They have issues with basic cover, they don’t even have tarpaulin to rig up some sort of cover to live under, but they are still saying thank you to us. They are still smiling and the kids still want to play with you.”

Horsham firefighter Owen Marfany (far left) was one of a team from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service that flew to Nepal after a devastating earthquake in April 2015Horsham firefighter Owen Marfany (far left) was one of a team from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service that flew to Nepal after a devastating earthquake in April 2015
Horsham firefighter Owen Marfany (far left) was one of a team from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service that flew to Nepal after a devastating earthquake in April 2015

Owen said he expected the team to search for survivors in the remains of collapsed buildings, but the nature of the tragedy meant they focused on humanitarian aid and medical assistance.

Their help was no more necessary than when the team was alerted to a hospital in Kathmandu that was possibly structurally unsafe due to the earthquake.

Owen said: “The hospital was working at 80 beds post-earthquake.

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“We made the building safe and now it is working to capacity with 800 people. We were very proud of that.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue set up base camp in Kathmandu, NepalWest Sussex Fire and Rescue set up base camp in Kathmandu, Nepal
West Sussex Fire and Rescue set up base camp in Kathmandu, Nepal

“We might not be doing the heroic stuff we were expecting to do but we were making a difference on the ground.”

The Horsham firefighter added that the job was emotionally challenging, especially when meeting children the same age as his daughters, who are seven and two.

He said: “We worked in villages up north which had been totally devastated and were able to get medical assistance.

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“You have lovely little kids with injuries - you’re giving them a plaster or trying to clean them up and emotionally it is quite a rollercoaster.

“My wife is very supportive. My girls just miss me and every time I phoned I got the guilt trip of ‘we miss you’.”

Owen added that the ‘rewarding’ experience was something he never thought he would do.

He added: “I never thought I would end up going to help offer humanitarian aid in Nepal.

“We ended up camping on the ambassador’s front lawn.

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“Going to Nepal is on my bucket list but I never thought I would go out as a firefighter.”

The UK search and rescue team contained six specially trained firefighters from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Servie’s technical rescue unit.

UKISAR have previously been deployed to assist following earthquakes in Haiti and New Zealand and the tsunami in Japan.