SEARCH AND RESCUE TRAINING

On March 15, 2008 Dick & Kay Trudell and Chuck Besterman attended an Introduction to Search and Rescue Course put on by the Franklin County CERT team at the Armory in St. Albans.  The objective was to give their members and guests an introduction and overview of a basic search and rescue operation. 

     We started off as a group identifying possible search and rescue scenarios for both possible candidates and different conceivable wilderness settings.  Paperwork that is available to help identify missing persons was presented and copies handed out to those in attendance.  Gear and supplies that may be helpful to a search and rescue were outlined highlighting the fact that factors such as weather, time of year, terrain, and potential length of search were critical factors to consider.  Communication and incident management were reviewed and followed up by an announcement that a discussion of navigational equipment and skills would be covered at a follow-up course on March 29, 2008.   

     The search and rescue operation was broken down into four stages 1) Locate, 2) Reach, 3) Stabilize, and 4) Evacuate.  Each of the stages were detailed and discussed in reference to different possible scenarios.  Following this discussion we identified and reviewed types of searches that could be implemented.  First type of search would be a Hasty search usually the initial approach followed by a Loose Grid search, then a Tight Grid search, and if necessary an Evidence search.  These searches were presented graphically and discussed in detail.

     The outside portion of this training was cancelled for today.  It was explained that if anyone wanted to take this training to the next level they could take a course offered by National Association for Search and Rescue that costs approximately $90.00 for SARTECH III certification.