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SAR NEWS

West coast ferry disaster demonstrates community's heroism
When The Queen of the North ran aground off the coast of British Columbia in the early morning of March 22, 2006, the small community of Hartley Bay First Nation was caught off-guard, making their heroic actions all the more daring. Going out in fishing and recreational boats, the residents brought the survivors to shore from lifeboats and life rafts. Everyone in the local community of Hartley Bay was involved in taking care of the reported 99 people that came ashore.
Unofficial reports say that the ship went aground at 12:24am and the Joint Rescue Centre Victoria received the relayed distress call at 12:26am. Canadian Forces Cormorant and Buffalo aircraft were tasked along with numerous Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary vessels.

The CCGS Sir Wilfred Laurier was one of the five Canadian Coast Guard vessels that responded to the incident. Based out of the Canadian Coast Guard base in Victoria, it provides search and rescue services in addition to icebreaking, aids to navigation, fisheries enforcement, and other duties.

The situation could have been a lot worse if it had occurred during the summer months when the ferry is much busier. That night, there were 101 people reported on board out of a possible 700. Two remain unaccounted for and the RCMP is investigating their whereabouts.
"It was an amazing team effort," said Major Chuck Grenkow, Officer in Charge of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria, in a radio interview on March 23.
"It was an excellent response," Maj. Grenkow said. "And not only from the dedicated search and rescue professionals who are on 24/7, but from the Hartley Bay First Nation community. They did everything they could - kudos to those folks."

Canadian Coast Guard cutter adopted by Toronto Fire Service
A Canadian Coast Guard cutter declared surplus late last year has a new home with the Toronto Fire Service.
The SORA, a 12.5m long multi-task utility craft, was presented to the Toronto Fire Service by former Fisheries and Oceans Minister, Geoff Regan, in late 2005.
The SORA, which will arrive in mid-April, will act as a back-up vessel to the William Lyon MacKenzie when the latter is not in service.

Secretariat receives Certificate of Appreciation
In January 2006, the Water Incident Research Alliance (WIRA) presented the National Search and Rescue Secretariat with a Certificate of Appreciation for SAR New Initiatives Funding and support for a SAR NIF project to create a database of water-related incidents.

International Polar Year creates potential SAR impact
An intensive two-year period of research in the world's polar regions will begin officially in March 2007, and with it, an influx of scientists and researchers to Canada's North.
The International Polar Year (www.ipy.ca) is intended to advance knowledge of the interaction between polar climates and environments, ecosystems and societies. The area of study extends between Latitudes 60 to 90, North and South, approximately the southern limit of discontinuous permafrost in Canada.

CBC features 19 Wing Comox SAR units
After visiting with crews from the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue and 442 Squadron, Rick Mercer gave his audience a better appreciation for role of SAR Techs.
The episode, which aired on CBC's Rick Mercer Report on April 4, demonstrated the work of SAR Techs when they rescued Rick from an overturned vessel and from open waters. The day continued with Rick being thrown off a jetty tower, strapped to a litter and treated for spinal injuries.

Photo by Sgt. Eileen Redding

Volunteers an incredible resource: RCMP
A recent article in the Pony Express, an RCMP publication, highlights the importance of volunteers and the need for cooperation and collaboration between volunteer groups and police organizations.
"Search and rescue volunteers are an incredible resource," Staff Sergeant Mike Frizzell, former RCMP National SAR Co-ordinator, said in the article.
"They're organized, they're trained, they're equipped and they're totally committed."
The article mentions the hard work, financial constraints and significant time commitments volunteers face.
"It's very important for our detachments to understand what they have at their disposal and that they take steps to ensure there are solid bridges between the RCMP and those resources long before they have to call on them," said S/Sgt. Frizzell.

SARSAV is selling their popular DVD, "SAR Best Practices", for $19.95, plus shipping. To order, please contact Bob Smith at sarsavbob@sasktel.net

Canadian Inland SAR incident database available soon
The Canadian Inland SAR Incident System (CISARIS) is more user-friendly, has more options and will be available online later on in 2006.
Developed by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat in partnership with many ground SAR organizations, the system will provide incident records and allow for the development of new prevention programs.
There are three sections, with subsections in each, to input data: incident summary, SAR response and subject details. It is linked to the Canadian Geographical Names Database (http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/info/cgndb_e.php), which will tell the user the latitude and longitude once the incident location is chosen.
The system can generate reports based on different criteria. For example, a user may want a breakdown of all incidents occurring in December, or a report based on resources used for rescues.
More information will be available on the Secretariat's web site later this year.

Since the National Search and Rescue Secretariat was established 20 years ago, only one person has been here since the beginning. Diane Miller has had many roles at the NSS and currently serves as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Jean Murray.

International Beacon Registration Database now available online
The COSPAS-SARSAT Secretariat announces the International Beacon Registration Database (IBRD). It will provide a means of registering beacons when no national database exists in the user's country.
This database does not replace national beacon registration facilities such as the Canadian Beacon Registry. www.406registration.com/

Call for SAR Award Nominations
Do you know an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to of search and rescue in Canada?
The National SAR Secretariat's Outstanding Search and Rescue Achievement Award and the Certificates of Achievement were introduced in 1995 to acknowledge outstanding work done by search and rescue providers and organizations, and to raise awareness of search and rescue efforts across Canada.
The award and certificates will be presented at SARSCENE 2006 in Gatineau, Québec on Friday, Oct. 6, 2006.
Nominations should be based on the criteria and are due June 2, 2006.

Canadian Safe Boating Council honours members of the boating community
At the 2005 CASBA awards in Toronto this past January, 13 awards were handed out to those people, programs, organizations and marinas that help make boating in Canada safer and better for all and protect the environment.
The 2005 winners include:

• David Laing, Fay Laing, Wieske van Zoest and Clayton Hickey: Canadian Power and Sail Squadron's Rescue of the Year
• Formula Media Group (Boatguide and Boating Business magazines): Best Media Contribution to Boating Safety (this is the first year this award has been given).
• Peter Garapick (Ontario Regional Manager, Boating Safety for Transport Canada) and Robert Minielly, Acting Staff Sergeant of the Traffic and Marine section, Field and Traffic Support Bureau, Ontario Provincial Police): Marine Professional of the Year.
• Jeff Evans: Top Volunteer Dedicated to Boating Safety
• Sergeant Wayne Atkins (3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group from CFB Borden, Ontario) and Canadian Coast Guard's Henry Larsen (an icebreaker and Arctic Class 4 vessel operated by 11 officers and 20 crewmembers): Best Boating Safety Initiative conducted in Canada in 2005
• Collins Bay Marina, Kingston, Ont.: Safeguarding the Environment
• Steve Wagner of Salus Marine Wear Inc.: Marine Industry Award
• Fifty Point Marina of Winona, Ont.: Green Marina Environmental Award
• Barbara Byers and the Town of Little Current/Spider Bay Marina: Special Recognition Awards.

For more information about the Marine Industry Award, presented to Steve Wagner for his work in developing a PFD for babies, see the Feature Story in this issue of SARSCENE Magazine.

First Safe Boating Award for company promoting PFD wear in advertising
The Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) awarded its first ever Canadian Safe Boating Award (CASBA) recognizing companies who promote PFD wear in advertising.
NMMA Canada, producer of the Toronto and Vancouver International Boat Shows, as well as the Toronto In-water Boat Show, received a Canadian Safe Boating Award for Visible PFD Wear in Advertising at the 8th annual awards ceremony in Toronto Jan. 12
NMMA was honoured because of the extraordinary effort in promoting PFD wearing as a natural part of boating.
"We're firm believers in the use of PFDs so we lead by example. We have hundreds of prominently placed signs throughout all of our events that show people enjoying the boating lifestyle wearing PFDs," said Linda Waddell, show manager of the Toronto International Boat Show.
"All of our ticket-takers, show greeters and information booth staff wear lifejackets."
Ted Rankine, CASBA co-founder, says consistent messaging on all fronts is vital to make wearing PFDs part of normal boating culture. www.csbc.ca

Sambro crew awarded for multi-agency SAREX
A multi-agency Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX) held in Nova Scotia in late 2005 and won the crew of the CCGC Sambro an award.
The commemorative award, given for outstanding participation in a multi-agency SAREX, was presented to the crew in January 2006 for their development of a complex exercise scenario to improve interoperability and inter-agency coordination in large-scale SAR incidents.
SAREX participants included the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Canadian Forces. Members of Ontario's Peel Regional Police force also participated to improve their on-scene commander skills.
Mike Voigt, Superintendent of Search and Rescue for the CCG, Maritimes Region, stressed the importance of these types of exercises.
"We will continue to raise the bar on our SAR exercises to further improve the interoperability of the CCG and our SAR partners.

Commanding Officer Stephen Beasley and the crew of CCGC Sambro (Ray Miller, Donald Morris and Mike Pettipas) are presented with a commemorative award for outstanding participation in a multi-agency SAREX. Also present are James Monroe, Fleet Standards Officer, Joe Murphy, CCGA Maritimes Co-ordinator, Gary Mason, CCGA Maritimes Business Manager and Mike Voigt, Superintendent, SAR.

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