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

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

Learn more about this conference here.

Source: JoCoSAR Blog

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.

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.

SAR CONFERENCE: 2014 National Search & Rescue Conference (USA), a joint convention of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) and the National Association for Search & Rescue (NASAR) hosted by New Jersey Search & Rescue (NJSAR), June 5-7, 2014, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey

More conference info here.

UK & Irish Mountain Rescue Conference: September 12-14, 2014 in Cairngorms National Park, Aviemore, Scotland (UK)

Learn more about this conference here.

SAR Fatality—Manitoba, Canada: Searcher with Lac Brochet Search and Rescue (Rangers) found deceased during search for missing subject; second searcher in critical condition

Global News is reporting...

WOLLASTON LAKE, Sask. – A search and rescue member has been found dead and a second one is in critical condition after they were found near the Saskatchewan/ Manitoba border on Tuesday afternoon.

The two men, members of the Lac Brochet Search and Rescue (Rangers) were part of a search party who were looking for a missing man who had set out for Wollaston Lake, Sask. from Lac Brochet, Man. last week.

The snowmobiler was located but there was no word from the Rangers who were in a yellow Tundra 550 truck.

They were reported missing to Wollaston RCMP on Tuesday afternoon and were located a short time later [a]pproximately 25 kilometres east of Wollaston Lake.

A 47-year-old man was discovered dead. An autopsy has been order to determine the cause of death.

The second man, 40, was in critical condition. He was taken to a clinic in Lac Brochet and then transport to Winnipeg for further treatment.

Police continue to investigate.

Wollaston Lake is approximately 700 km northeast of Saskatoon.

Source: Global News Canada

2014 NASAR Awards—Nomination submissions due by March 22nd, 2014

It is the continuing policy of NASAR to encourage public recognition of those agencies, organizations and individuals who, through outstanding service or achievements, make a substantial contribution in the search and rescue field.

A direct benefit of the nomination process is the recognition inherent in that effort alone. The contention is, of course, that those nominated (but not selected - as the award delegate), are winners in their own right.

Recognition continues to be a powerful motivational force and those two magic words—THANK YOU—spoken publicly, still force the emotions and function as the motivation for continued good work.

Award categories
There are 6 official NASAR award categories:

• NASAR's Bob Wright Award
• NASAR's Hal Foss Award
• NASAR's Lois Clark McCoy Service Award
• NASAR's State/Canadian Province Award
• NASAR's Valor Award
• NASAR's Instructor of the Year Award

Guidelines for preparation and submission of nominations for all NASAR awards

1. All nominations shall follow the guidelines for preparing NASAR Awards nominations.
2. Nominations shall be considered only for the year in which the nomination is received. To be reconsidered for a subsequent year, an unsuccessful nomination will have to be resubmitted. The only exception to this is the Hal Foss Award where nominations meeting applicable criteria remain eligible for up to three years.
3. Most award nominations can be submitted by any person familiar with the contributions of the individual or unit being nominated.
4. Nominations for the State/Canadian Province Award and the NASAR Valor Award are required to include at least two wholly independent endorsements in support of the nomination unless the nomination is submitted by a NASAR-recognized government or volunteer organization involved in search and rescue.
5. 
   The NASAR Valor Award requires that the action on which the nomination is based must have occurred during the twelve month period prior to the date that the nomination is due.
6. Current Association officers, directors, trustees and employees are not eligible for any of these official NASAR awards while preforming a task for the Association. Additionally, former Association employees are not eligible for the NASAR Lois Clark McCoy Service Award where their nomination would be based on contributions considered to be in the scope of responsibilities for which they were employed by the Association.
7. Nominations shall be submitted to NASAR Headquarters. Nominations mailed or received after the specified dates will not be considered. The review and certification of candidates nominated shall be completed by the Executive Director and then submitted to the Board of Directors for voting. To submit via email send to the Executive Director.
8. Award winners are recognized at the annual conference immediately following the balloting procedures.

Source: NASAR 

Montana SAR volunteer killed in a snowmobile accident during training

Missoula, Montana — Press Release: Lincoln County Sheriff's Office

A Libby Search & Rescue volunteer [DTSAR Team Web site] was killed in a snowmobile accident Saturday morning southwest of Troy.

On Saturday, January 18, 2014, members of David Thompson Search and Rescue and CANAM Search and Rescue were taking part in a joint avalanche preparedness training exercise in the Bear Mountain area up Keeler Creek, about 12 miles southwest of Troy, Montana.  This joint training also involved members of search and rescue teams from Sanders County, Montana and Boundary County, Idaho, along with personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and other volunteer members of the community.

At about 9:50 AM, Troy Dispatch was advised of a snowmobile accident on the Keeler Creek road, with one male adult victim.  Medically trained personnel already at the scene of the accident requested an air ambulance response and began CPR on the patient.  The Alert Helicopter out of Kalispell was launched to respond.  Troy Volunteer Ambulance (TVA) and Advance Life Support (ALS) personnel responded to the scene from Troy.

Upon arrival at the trailhead parking area, an ALS member was transported up the drainage by snowmobile to meet the patient.  The patient, identified as Cameron Mitchell Goins, age 47, of Libby, was declared dead at 10:33 AM, shortly after ALS arrival.  The helicopter response was cancelled.

Sheriff Roby Bowe responded to the scene with Detective Nate Scofield.  U.S. Forest Service investigators also responded.

The accident investigation revealed that Goins, along with a group of other snowmobilers, was riding his snowmobile alone up the Keeler Creek drainage toward the avalanche training area when, for an unknown reason, Goins drifted off the maintained snowmobile trail and struck a tree with his body.  Goins was wearing a helmet.

Goins had been a member of David Thompson Search and Rescue for two years.  He was an active member of the Snowmobile Unit, ATV Unit, and Mountain Unit.

“Cameron Goins was a dedicated community volunteer and will always be remembered and have a place within David Thompson Search and Rescue, and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his family.”   - Sheriff Roby Bowe.

Sources: NBC Montana, JoCoSAR Blog

9-volt-battery fire hazard

A July fire in New Hampshire sparked by a 9 volt battery in a junk drawer has fire safety officials warning of how to properly store them.

The resident had just cleaned and organized a junk drawer in her kitchen and the fire was started by storing the 9 volt battery in the same baggie as other batteries, the state fire marshal's office said in a press release.

The 9 volt battery rubbed against another battery and ignited the fire, according to the investigation by the local fire department. Read more here.

Source: Watch video on the JoCoSAR Blog

Mountain rescue team members—'The Lone Wolves'

Author Benjamin A. Gochberg, Vail Mountain Rescue Group (VMRG)

It was nearly Christmas, and we were grateful it had been a relatively quiet rescue season thus far. 

The Vail Mountain Rescue Group had decided to hold a party at one of our members’ home. 

Watching mountain men, ex-Marines, river runners, guides, patrollers, paramedics, truckers and, yes, even the one-off CPA, pastor or banker crowd into a single kitchen can be quite an interesting experience.

Mountain Rescue was once described to me as an organization made up entirely of lone wolves. This is damn accurate. 

It requires strong personalities and strong will to step into some parts of the backcountry — a will that must often be used for less romantic purposes, like holding your tongue when you want to speak, or standing in the rain waiting for your next set of instructions, or hiking in 12 miles to the backside of Holy Cross to save unwise people that believe you are obligated to come get them. 

It’s a volunteer organization, but few people realize how much of themselves must actually be volunteered. 
I’m proud to stand among these lone wolves on this particular night,...read more here.

Source: Mountain Rescue Association

Call for Speakers for the June 5-7, 2014 National Search and Rescue Conference presented by the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) and the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey

 Download info here.

Innovative Florida SAR unit builds their own drone for search missions

If you're interested in learning more about how drones—or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—can be used by a SAR team like yours, check out what the Peace River K9 Search & Rescue Association (PRSAR) of Englewood, Florida is up to.

For months, I've been following their progress in building a drone from scratch and it's pretty cool.

They're putting together a multi-mission-capable SAR UAS X81 aerial recon platform equipped with a live feed video-and-mapping camera.

In addition to chronicling the weekly progress of their new drone SAR unit, their Facebook page is one of the best portals into the world of drones that I've come across to date. These guys and gals are on the cutting edge. Check them out here. 

Here's a few shots of Peace River's SAR UAS X81 drone being prepped on its launcher by Richard Hyland, a K9 handler and private pilot with PRSAR. Photos courtesy of Michael Hadsell, a commercial-rated pilot and administrator of PRSAR's Facebook page.

U.S. Coast Guardsman dies of injuries suffered in rescue operation off Alaska

SEATTLE — A U.S. Coast Guardsman died in a Seattle hospital Wednesday of injuries suffered while conducting a rescue operation near Amak island, Alaska, on Nov. 11.

Petty Officer Third Class Travis Obendorf’s family was by his side when he died in Swedish Hospital following surgery, the Coast Guard said.

At the time of his injury,  Obendorf and his colleagues aboard Coast Guard Cutter Waesche were conducting small boat operations to assist the disabled fishing vessel Alaska Mist with 22 crew aboard. During the first transfer of passengers, Obendorf was injured while recovering the small boat. Read more.

Source: Point Last Scene

The International Commission For Alpine Rescue (IKAR) has released the long-awaited final video from their 2013 congress in Croatia

Grab a cup of coffee (or two) and check out the 56-minute final video from the 2013 IKAR-CISA (International Commission For Alpine Rescue) Congress that was held in Croatia. It was hosted by the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service and its awesome...

The January-March, 2013 issue of the Civil Air Patrol's (CAP's) "Volunteer Magazine" is now online

The January-March, 2013 issue of the Civil Air Patrol's (CAP's) Volunteer Magazine is now online.

Amazing video footage of heli rescue of crane operator trapped by raging construction fire in Kingston, Ontario

Amazing video footage of heli rescue of crane operator trapped by raging construction fire in Kingston, Ontario.

New video/audio of last moments of the Granite Mountain Hotshots at the Yarnell HIll Fire

New video/audio of last moments of the Granite Mountain Hotshots at the Yarnell Hill Fire.

50 reasons to drive carefully when responding to your next foul-weather callout...

If you need a reason why you should drive carefully when responding to your next foul-weather callout, here are 50.

Watch it to the end, as it picks up after the 3:30 mark.

This is from a wreck Sunday on US 41/45 in Germantown, Wisconsin that involved 50 vehicles and left a dozen or so people injured.

Source: Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS)

New Facebook Group Page for SAR Operators: "SAR Talk"

If you're into search and rescue, make sure you check out the new Facebook group page entitled: Search and Rescue / SAR Talk.

It's all about SAR.

It's currently 1,317 strong.

It's moderated against SPAM by Dave--aka: Red Rock SAR Dave--the commander of Red Rock Search and Rescue, Inc., in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And it's the place to be on Facebook if you're a SAR operator, or you want to be.

Hope to see you on Search and Rescue / SAR Talk!