HOMING BEACONS: Use all the tools in the toolbox, from the March 2014 issue of New Zealand Search & Rescue's "Link" magazine

Read the full March 2014 issue here.

SAR HUMOR

Source: Fernando Moreira via Tactical Trackers Group

WILDERNESS FIRST AID: The Five Second Rule – Six Ways you can Reduce Pauses in Compressions and Save More Lives with CPR

Read article here.

AERIAL OPS: Spotting techniques for area searches

WILDERNESS SKILLS: How to melt snow on a stick

MAN-TRACKING: Work the ‘path of most resistance’ when signcutting

ROPE RESCUE: Tying the radium 3-to-1 load-releasing hitch

SAR HUMOR

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/theothercoast/2014/03/22#.UzK8YFf3Ka  via NASAR

SAFETY NOTICE: Call for inspection of Yoke-brand “snap / rebar hooks” for “improperly spun” rivets

Learn more here.

Source: Wade Sarver via the Rope Test Lab

WILDERNESS SKILLS: How to stay warm in the bush

Read article here.

SAR FATALITY: Train Strikes, Kills Firefighter During Search For Missing Woman

Read article here.

>>For the purposes of this post, a 'like' is considered a show of support and respect for the family, friends, and teammates of the deceased. —Michael

BUSH GEAR: The ParaHatchet, by Ultimate Survival Technologies (UST)

MAN-TRACKING: ‘Cow’ shoes used by moonshiners in 1924 to disguise their footprints

Source: Library of Congress via RetroNaut.com via Institute of Visual Tracking & Tactical Acuity via Bill Adams.

K-9 HANDLERS: Humor

Source: K9—Man's best friend via our friends at the TYR Group LLC

LAND NAVIGATION: 12 most-common errors & their remedies

FIRST AID: 10 tips for effective airway management and ventilation, by Scott R. Snyder, et al, EMSworld

Download & read article here.

SAFETY NOTICE: Call for rivet inspection on Petzl CROLL B16 & B16AAA rope clamps

Read inspection notice here.

Source: Roo Fox-Rockley, via Journal of Search and Rescue (JSAR)

NOTICE: As alluded to in the caption, the Petzl Croll depicted in the upper right corner of the graphic is NOT the model affected by this safety notice—It is a current model. As mentioned in the headline, the Croll models affected are the B16 & B16AAA, both of which were manufactured in 2012, according to Petzel's customer information sheet at http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/safety-information-croll-B16AAA. A grainy enlargement of a Croll rope clamp Petzl included in its customer information sheet regarding this matter appears to the right.

SAR OPERATIONS: How to figure critical separation between searchers

ROPE RESCUE: The Four-To-One Rule—rope bends & knot dressing

AVALANCHE 101: The 3 types of avalanches

WILDERNESS FIRST AID: Snakebites & pressure immobilization bandages

GPS POCKET MANUAL: Free, 8-page, pocket-sized guide for Garmin Oregon 400, 500, & 600 GPS units

Print-out this pocket guide using the "print" function in your Internet browser menu; then trim and laminate individual pages.

Source: Adapted from material provided by the US National Wildfire Coordinating Group's (NWCG's) Geospatial Subcommittee (GSC)

SAR NEWS: Rock climber who assisted another climber injured in Shortoff Mountain fall cited by USFS for interfering with rescuers in North Carolina

SHORTOFF MOUNTAIN —An experienced rock climber said he was the first person to reach the man who fell 20-40 feet off a cliff in Linville Gorge.

Officials also cited him because emergency crews said he got in the way of their operation.

The civilian rock climber said he spent hours with the victim, but Tuesday, he's being fined with interfering with the rescue.

It's the latest twist in a dramatic rescue you watched unfold live on Channel 9.

The 23-year-old who fell is in good condition at an Asheville hospital.

Jackson Depew severely injured his pelvis in the fall when he landed on a ledge just a few feet wide when his climbing anchors gave way.

911 calls give a firsthand account of the desperate situation on that ledge.
                           
A civilian rock climber wearing an orange helmet was the first person to reach Depew.

The climber stayed with him for several hours before emergency crews from Burke County arrived....read story here.

Source: No Charge for Rescue

MAN-TRACKING: How to use a tracking box to learn the art of tracking, by John Hurth, author of the "Combat Tracking Guide"

SAR CONFERENCE: Search & Rescue Europe—April 7-9, 2014, Copenhagen, Denmark

Learn more about this conference here.

Source: JoCoSAR Blog

Rope Rescue: How to rig a change-of-direction anchor system

DRONES: Judge strikes down FAA's ban on small drones

According to Politico.Com...

A federal judge slapped down the FAA’s fine for a drone operator, saying there was no law banning the commercial use of small drones.

The judge’s decision could open up the skies below 400 feet to farmers, photographers and entrepreneurs who have been battling the FAA over the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles.

NTSB Administrative Law Judge Patrick Geraghty ruled Thursday that the policy notices the FAA issued as a basis for the ban weren’t enforceable because they hadn’t been written as part of a formal rulemaking process

The ruling, for now, appears to make it legal for drones to fly at the low altitude as part of a business — whether that’s delivering beer, photographing a baseball game or spraying crops.

The case, Pirker v. Huerta, concerned Raphael Pirker, a Swiss drone operator who was fined $10,000 by the FAA for operating a drone recklessly while filming a commercial for the University of Virginia’s medical school. Pirker is the only person the FAA has fined for violating the rule, but the agency has sent letters and made informal calls to other drone operators. The judge’s ruling dismisses the FAA’s fine….Read more here.

SAR Magazine: The March 7, 2014 issue of "Emergency Manager's Weekly Report" published by the International Association of Emergency Managers is online

Read it here.

Un-certified Virginia, USA, swift-water training instructor who issued forged Rescue 3 certifications to dozens of unknowing swift-water trainees over a 3 year period is jailed on 70-count indictment

"BUENA VISTA, Va. -The former volunteer fire chief in Buena Vista is out on bond after an arrest Friday as part of a 77 count indictment.

Butch Lawhorn taught swift water rescue courses but investigators say he was never certified to teach those courses. Lawhorn is accused of faking certificates issued to volunteers from all over southwest Virginia and of taking thousands of dollars for the classes. Swift water rescue teams in Rockbridge County and beyond are in limbo, waiting to find out if they'll have to train all over again.

Last fall, WDBJ7 first reported Lawhorn was the focus of a State Police investigation. He lost his chief position around the same time. Troopers searched the fire station and his house...."

Learn more here.

Knot tying: The inline figure of eight and alpine butterfly knots

Magazine: The March 2014 issue of the FBI's "Law Enforcement Bulletin" is online

Read it here.

SAR operations: How to flag a closed-grid search

Land navigation: How to improve GPS reception

SAR Magazine: The February 2014 issue of the Scottish Mountain Rescue's "Casbag Magazine" is online

Download and read it here.

Rope Rescue: How to rig a steep-angle (40° to 60°) litter evacuation

To purchase a copy of this handy, 196-page, spiral-bound, pocket-sized field guide, point your Internet browser here.

Bush Gear: The Clamshell Compass by Wazoo Survival Gear

More Clamshell Compass info here.

SAR Magazine: The winter 2013-14 issue of Canada's "Avalanche Journal" is online

Read this journal here.

Avalanche safety: 90% of victims trigger their own avalanches according to 9-page avalanche safety brochure from the SportScotland Avalanche Information Service

Download 9-page brochure here.