SEARCH AND RESCUE

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SEARCH AND RESCUE

• Land/Wilderness

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Ben Morse SPECIAL OPERATIONS DIVISION
CHIEF SAVANNAH FIRE EMERGENCY SERVICES
GEORGIA SEARCH RESCUE TEAM COORDINATOR
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Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness

• Methodology
• Terminology
• Search Techniques
• Two Types of Searches
• Land/Wilderness
• Urban Searches
• Geo-referencing

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Search and RescueTerminology

• Search Areas
• Assigned by Incident Command
• Map
• Search Grids
• Labeled
• Map issued to each Team
• Point Last Seen (PLS)
• Point on map where victim was last seen
• by a witness
• Positive ID!
• Trailhead, hunting camp, office space, work area,
  etc
• Place to focus search around
• Age, experience, physical fitness, how long ago
  sighted
• clues to how large search area will be

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Search and RescueTerminology

• Last Known Position (LKP)
• During a search clues will turn up
• When they are solid enough to be reasonably
  certain that the search victim left it
• Since LKP more recent than PLS
• New starting point for search
• General direction of travel
• Approximate speed of travel

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Search and RescueTerminology

• Probability of Detection (POD)
• Likelihood of finding search subject in
• Given search area
• With technique used
• Different search techniques yield different PODs
• Coin reported in Sand Box
• Each search technique has a probability of
  detection
• More thorough higher POD/longer it takes to
  search same area
• Managing a Search is a balance of POD and Search
  Time

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• Equipment
• Maps
• Handheld GPS
• Compass
• Suitable clothing
• Weather / Environment
• Communications with aircraft
• Food, water, first aid, etc.
• ATVs

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• Search Techniques
• Bastard Search
• Look in obvious places/assume victim not lost
• What the searchers call the person after crawling
  through woods, etc then finding him eating
  popcorn and watching baseball
• Example boy goes hunting and doesnt return by
  dark
• Searchers called out
• Boy returns home in wee hours
• In reality, hunting story was fabricated to get
  out of chores and spend day with Sally

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• When suspected assign a team to do a hasty
  search of likely places the person would go
• Considerations
• Intelligence
• Latest info of plans of person
• Where they were going
• Who are the friends
• Recently made friends
• Speed
• Use radios vehicles so planners can rule out
  areas
• Talk to the couple in the tent next door
• Was there an argument earlier in the day
• Leave a note on the car, etc

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• Containment Search
• When search team arrives they have a PLS of
  victim
• Determine max area based on PLS
• How fast person walking
• How long since last seen
• Wind up with a circle with PLS at the center
• Direction unknown
• Make containment the top priority
• It limits your search area
• Anyone can do it
• Straight roads two or three searchers
• Even two sides of area helps
• Must be vigilant 100 that no one gets by them
• Run rehab for those in deeper searches/report in
  by radio regularly

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• Hasty Search
• 10 to 12 highly trained searchers dropped in to
  virgin area
• Goal move quickly, look for clues or lost person
• Purpose Bring a rapid end to the search
• Almost slow jog, check areas person may be
  injured or resting
• Not directed team has free reign
• Slow down for point search pass open areas very
  rapidly
• Speed requires trained rescuers who know to look
  for clues
• Footprints, broken branches
• POD based on skill of rescuers and search area

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• Grid Search
• Typical line of searchers walking through woods
• Searchers in straight line moving slowly and
  deliberately
• Maintain spacing with searchers on sides
• Do not take the path of least resistance (thorn
  bush)
• Seldom find victim, but typically find clues
• Sometimes used to give people something to do in
  very large searches
• Spacing pack of cigarettes

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• Choke Point Search
• Use based on lost persons skills, and the terrain
• Large river with few bridges
• Typically not very useful where lost person is
  trying to evade searchers
• Can be handled by less experienced/physically fit
  teams

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Search and RescueLand/Wilderness Search

• Track Trap Search
• Natural or man-made traps that capture evidence
  of a lost persons passing
• Footprints in sand
• Clothing caught in thorn bushes
• Where frequent lost persons are
  reported,(National Parks) SAR teams build track
  traps out of sand on major trails
• Track traps are raked smooth, then checked
  frequently
• Tracks are compared to those of the lost person

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Geo-referencing

• Do we need to have all Searchers using the same
  system,
• Air
• Ground Teams
• Incident Command
• Others
• Should they all at least understand the playbook?

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Geo-referencing

• Latitude / Longitude
• United States National Grid
• Global Area Referencing System

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Lat/Long

• Lat / Long
• Keeping it simple for Catastrophic Incident SAR,
  the commonly described Latitude and
  Longitudedescribes what a SAR responder will use
  on a standard chart/map and what is displayed in
  a GPS receiver.
• Lat 31.9794 North
• Long 81.1k685 West

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Lat/Long
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USNG

• United States National Grid (USNG)
• Ground-based grided coordinate system based on
  Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) System.
• Basic unit of measure is the meter positions
  reported as distance north from equator and
  distance from the zone central meridian.
• Purpose provide a seamless, standardized ref
  system for nationwide use during times of crisis.

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US National Grid
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Global Area Reference System (GARS)
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Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event

• NSARC Georeferencing Matrix Catastrophic
  Incident SAR
• Georeference System User USNG Lat/Long GARS
• DD-MM.mmm (1)
• Land SAR Responder(2) Primary Secondary N/A
• Aeronautical SAR Responders(3) Secondary Primary
  Tertiary
• Air Space Deconfliction(4) N/A Primary N/A
• Land SAR Responder/ Primary Secondary N/A
• Aeronautical SAR Responder
• Interface (5)
• Incident Command
• Air SAR Coordination Secondary Primary N/A
• Land SAR Coordination Primary Secondary N/A
• Area organization and Secondary Tertiary
  Primary
• accountability (6)

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Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event

• The Footnotes
• During CIS operations, Lat/Long will be in one
  standard format DD-MM.mmm.
• Land SAR Respondersmustuse USNG however, a good
  familiarity with lat/long is necessary to ensure
  effective interface between Land and Air SAR
  Responders.

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Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event

• Air SAR Responders will use lat/long.
• Air space deconfliction only in Lat/Long.
• Air SAR Responders working with Land SAR
  Responders have primary responsibility of
  coordinating SAR using USNG(Both need to know
  USNG and Lat/Long.).
• GARS (Global Area Reference System) used for CIS
  response leadership situational awareness.

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Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event

• Catastrophic Incident defined
• any natural or manmade incident, including
  terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels
  of mass causalities, damage, or disruption,
  severely affecting the population,
  infrastructure, environment, economy, national
  morale, and/or government functions

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Lat/Long USNG -GARS

• Matrix is for NSARC member agency SAR Responders
• NSARC wont impose georeferencing standards on
  volunteer, local, or State SAR Responders
  however
• Need to be aware of what to expect when a
  Catastrophic Incident is declared and NSARC
  member agencies conduct SAR operations.

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Lat/Long USNG -GARS

• Matrix will be implemented when a Catastrophic
  Incident occurs.
• (As defined in the NRF)

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Questions?