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National Criteria for Ground Search and Rescue

Volume 1 - BASIC

CRITERIA

A. PROGRAM

Human Rights Sensitivity

Awareness of legal and civil rights of individuals, sensitivity to issues of race, sex, culture, age.

Jurisdictions and Responsibilities

The roles played by the policy and operational jurisdictions. The role and limitations of the volunteer agency.

Financial and Administrative Information

The tasking agency and their financial responsibilities and limitations. Financial and reporting responsibilities of the volunteer agency.

Legal Rights and Obligations

Vulnerability to and protections against legal liability.

Workers Compensation status

Degree of protection and limitations under Workers Compensation and conditions

Ethical Issues

Dealing with families, black humour, confidentiality, media.

Personal and Psychological Issues

Extreme circumstances places stress on searchers, victims, families, dealing with fatalities, significance of de-briefings.

B. GENERAL OPERATIONAL

Skills Overview

The kinds of jobs in GSAR and skills used.

Standards of Training

The degree to which you are expected to accomplish the skills of the courses.

Personal Safety

A variety of safety matters to consider, from footwear to helicopter operations

Preparation and callout

Include callout lists, family awareness, 24 hour packs

Traveling

Access to and from site, don't burden resources

Personal Maintenance

• Health and Fitness and knowing limitations
• Body management
  • Rest and Sleeping
  • Clothing types, layers, heat loss, electrolytes,
  • Hygiene and Sanitation

Survival

• Necessities of Life
• Food
  • How to prepare in advance, how to find and acquire
• Signalling
  • Types, signs, how to
• Fires
  • Making, sustaining, smoke, reflecting, protecting
• Shelter
  • Wind, sun, rain, ground, building
• Survival psychology
  • How to feel and be positive
• Animal hazards
• Avoidance, prevention, patterns

Importance of record keeping

• Logging in/logging out personnel
• Logging in/logging out equipment
• Notebooks and observations
• Training records
• Operational activity records
• The Command Post operation

Overview

C. NAVIGATION

Maps

• Types
• Scales and distances
  • Map scale, distance scale, terrain vs straight line distances
• Map identification
  • Map numbers, how to acquire/order maps
• Marginal information/symbols
  • Symbols and what they mean, colours, roads and cuts, objects, etc
• Relief indicators
  • Mapping 3D to 2D, contours, slopes
• UTM/grid coordinates
  • How to read/write grid coordinates
• Lines of position/triangulation
  • Lines of position/bearing, fixes, intersections
• Route plotting
  • Identifying waypoints, bearings, adjustments for topography

Compass

• Degrees and cardinal points
  • Circle, degrees, points
• Compass designs
  • Types, mirrors, sites,
• Compass maintenance
  • Maintaining the compass
• Setting declination
  • Finding declination for the area, setting it on the compass, what it means
• Siting, position fixing
  • How to site, read bearings
• Following bearings/courses
  • Including aiming off, dead reckoning
• Navigating around obstacles
  • How to, keeping track
• Pacing and measuring
  • Including hip chain,
• Using map and compass together
  • Identifying points, relating bearings, keeping track
• Practical Exercises

D. TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• Awareness of Radio Operations
• Satellite and Cell Phones
• Awareness of roles

E. SEARCH

Overview of Search Theory and incident management

Notification

Receiving notification, confirming authority notification,

Assembling/checking in

Includes logging in, briefing, equipment checks, frequency confirmations, station identifications,

Assignments

Identification of team leaders, assignment of areas/tasks

Demobilization

Includes collect, debrief, record, critique

Confinement/containment of area

Securing the area that probably contains the search object

Attraction

Methods of attracting the attention of the victim, sound, visual

Sound sweeps

Organized use of sound

Visual sweeps

Organized patterns of visual searching, types, methods, techniques

Tracking

Orientation, techniques, sign cutting,

Night searching

Pluses and minuses, techniques, sound, lighting, types of light

Shoreline searching

Including calm water searching

Evidence/crimescene awareness

Sensitivity to possible crime, awareness of objects and items that may be evidence, contamination of crimescene, how to move

Evidence handling

Alerting of police, awareness of consequences of handling evidence,

Record keeping - chain of evidence

Your records and court testimony, chain of evidence

Handling of deceased

F. LOST PERSON BEHAVIOUR

Overview of Lost Person Behaviour

G. FIRST AID

It is recommended that all basic GSAR searchers complete first aid training.