Dave’s harness is saving lives

A RESCUE harness made in Oldham has helped save a baby’s life in typhoon-hit Taiwan.

The contraption was designed by Dave Allport, owner of Specialist Access and Rescue (SAR) Products, at Trans-Web in Manchester Street.

The 63-year-old, who has also been a rescue officer with Oldham Mountain Rescue Service for 38 years, described the proud moment he saw the harness, made by SAR, being used to save a baby from the Taiwan typhoon in a national newspaper.

He said: “It makes me feel proud that our equipment is being used across the world to save lives, especially in Taiwan at the moment. I noticed the picture of the baby rescue in a national newspaper and on the lunchtime news on TV.

“It just goes to show people we don’t buy things from out there but we are selling our products to them.

“My friend Steven Chang is out there training people to use the harnesses.”

On Friday, Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-Jeou said the number of people killed in mudslides and floods caused by the typhoon could exceed 500, almost 400 of them in Hsiaolin village alone.

Mr Allport, of Uppermill, has been running SAR at Trans-Web for the past five years, and is responsible for designing the technical access and rescue equipment which is used by police, fire service and UK coastguard and other rescue organisations around the world.

The company was formed after Troll Safety Equipment closed the Troll factory in Uppermill six years ago, and moved their manufacturing to Slovakia.

Dave had been employed by Troll for 20 years as their technical specialist for rescue and rope access, and designed equipment and techniques used in these areas.

He started the Troll training school and trained fire and rescue services, police and special forces in the UK.