Samur

Samur is an specialized and highly qualified emergency system of Madrid, Spain. The name stands for S.A.M.U.R. (Servicio de Asistencia Municipal de Urgencia y Rescate). It is composed of a central base (Ronda de las Provincias s/n, en la Casa de Campo de Madrid), 17 operative bases y 190 vehicles (mainly named "Soporte Vital Básico" or S.V.B. and "Soporte Vital Avanzado" or S.V.A.).

History
The starting point and deployment of the original structure was created by Dr. Simón Viñals Pérez in 1989 (former Madrid Health Counselor from 1989 to 2003), under the presidency of Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún. New uniforms were designed and better selection and learning methods introduced. The pilot project started in June 1.991 with the help of the former Mayor of Madrid, Mr. José María Alvarez del Manzano.

Once the success of the pilot was achieved, in December 1.992, the service started.

Function
The main objective is to solve efficiently the medical emergencies that could arise in the streets, inside the Madrid metropolitan area. Samur also assumes the leading role in the management of terrorist attacks or catastrophe. Their effort was remarkable in the terrorist events developed in Madrid, in march, 11, during the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

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