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Training exercise becomes a way to test regional SAR capabilities

By Jack Ricou, SAR Global 1

“Geeeez. Come on phone, ring. I’ve been awake all night waiting. Am I on the callout list? I should be but… Should I call somebody? Who? I’m so nervous. I have no idea where they are going to ask us to go and I’m scared that I won’t be able to find the search location. Some searcher I’d make if I can’t even find the location of the search. I hope they don’t ask me to use a GPS. Some of the others in the class seemed to know so much but I’ve never used one before and we had so little time to practice.”

Riiiiinnng! “Hello?”

“This is Search and Rescue Global 1. We have an incident. Are you able to respond?”

For 21 new volunteer searchers, this is how their day began on Sunday,
April 26, 2009, at about 7 a.m. They had been through all the lectures, practiced all the skills, written three exams and passed the field exercises. Now it was time to put it all together and participate with all the other regular members in a blind, mock search exercise, Global SAREX 2, where no one knows until the second they get the call, what or where the scenario will be.

An early start

Staging area and Command for SAREX 2 in Gatineau Park. Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers

In a parking lot some 20 km north of the city, on the edge of Gatineau Park, 16 organizers and observers had assembled at 5:30 a.m. They were willing the sun to climb high enough to overcome the morning chill, making calls to the police to set the exercise in motion, inserting the “lost” hikers and eagerly waiting to watch the search unfold.

This exercise is the brainchild of Search and Rescue Global 1 (SG1), a volunteer ground search group based in the Ottawa area. It operates in a vast region straddling the Ontario/Quebec border. SAREX was created to give new searchers their first taste of what a real search is like. SAREX 1, in December 2008, was a huge success in that respect.

However, the exercise is quickly becoming much more. SAREX 2 grew and this time, the province of Quebec’s MRC des Collines police force agreed to initiate the exercise, just as it might happen in a real situation by calling the SG1 pager number. They also contributed their mobile command vehicle. The National Capital Commission of Ottawa also participated by sending three conservation officers with ATVs. Search and Rescue Pontiac, which operates just west of the Gatineau Park in the province of Quebec, responded with six members. Including the SG1 members, there were
45 active participants for the search.

Observers

Many observers attended the exercise, including the Association québécoise des bénévoles en recherche et sauvetage, its sister organization in Ontario, the Ontario Search and Rescue Volunteer Association, the Sûreté du Québec provincial police, the MRC des Collines municipal police, the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec and the master trainer, who qualifies volunteer search instructors for the Ontario Provincial Police. A reporter from a local weekly newspaper also attended and was inserted into one of the search teams.

The search team scans for clues along the interface of two different types of terrain. Photo Credit: Lawrence Conway

The Incident Commander for the day was Steve Nason and his challenge was to deploy resources effectively in a huge potential search area, when he had little initial information with which to work. However, as the day progressed, additional clues were discovered and information was gathered, and the search became more focused. The “lost” hikers were finally located at 16:30.

In what ways has the exercise become more than it was originally intended to be? SAREX is a way of demonstrating the skills of volunteer searchers to the various tasking and coordinating agencies. It helps participating groups and agencies to learn from, and about, one another. It builds relationships and contacts that could be vital in a real incident. This kind of exercise is a way to determine how to work together effectively, and it is a safe opportunity in which to make mistakes. All these efforts are deployed in order to be able to mount a large, effective regional search when it will be necessary to do so.

SAREX 3 is planned for Saturday, November 21, 2009. For more information on this exercise, contact Jack Ricou at training@sarglobal1.ca.

Jack Ricou retired after more than 30 years working for Parks Canada and enjoys immensely his involvement with Search and Rescue Global 1 in the National Capital Region. He is currently on the Board of Directors and is also SG1’s Training Coordinator.

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