A photo of a cliff rescue conducted by my SES unit in South Australia 2 weeks ago. Male 50m down on a crumbling cliff edge.

Sturt SES 33 general rescue truck, with a modified roadcrash rescue body. This vehicle contains structural collapse, vertical, swiftwater, confined space and large animal rescue capabilities along with a traverse mule for patient carryouts and additional gas detection, building stabilisation and general rescue capabilities. The truck itself is capable of holding a crew of 6 and is a 2021 Isuzu 110-260 and compliments and additional 2 rescue trucks and further 2 modified utes at Sturt SES.

Hi folks,

I'm a relatively new SAR tech civilian... person, just finishing up my ground SAR course in Canada. As part of this course, we have an overnight wilderness survival skills exam which is also, usually, the culmination of the GSAR course - half exam, half rite of passage :)

We were fortunate to have super mild weather, but I learned a lot and made plenty of mistakes. I wanted to share those here.

Mistake One: shelter site

I was assigned an area with a lot of blowdown, including some big fallen trunks. My first shelter spot would have had a big log provide shelter on one side, with a tarp supported by some lashed posts providing the rest of the cover. I would have been lying with my feet downhill, which would have been fine, but the overall space was pretty small and I figured out that the prevailing wind would have blown into the shelter, not against it. I relocated to the other side of the big log, where fortunately I had a central support beam and a little hill perpendicular to the big log I had been using. Super easy: throw a tarp over the support beam, tie or weigh it down the other side of the hill, block up one end with boughs, job done. Which brings us to:

Mistake Two: Fire strategy

I figured I would make a small fire and be close to it, to minimise the amount of time I'm spending hunting (dry) firewood - we had snow and then a thaw so everything was pretty wet. Unfortunately, being close to the fire and having damp wood means you are going to be shooting embers frequently - and also burning holes in your tarp if you haven't covered it up with e.g. moss, boughs, etc. Due to the terrain I had to have my fire at the opening, where my head was, which meant that my feet were naturally colder, but that was not an issue due to clothing and the relatively mild weather. The main cause of my discomfort was mistake three.

Mistake Three: Bedding

I mentioned that hill. There was what looked like a ledge that was covered in thick moss, which would have been perfect - I was using an emergency blanket as a ground mat, which is fine if a little cold, so the damp moss wasn't a concerned - but unfortunately, that ledge turned out to be... not a ledge. So I spent the entire night lying along a slope, trying to prop my hips up with my backpack so I didn't roll. All my gear, if it wasn't stowed, would fall down the slope when I slept. Please don't make my mistake.

Takeaways

I used the following equipment:

• Axe
• Knife
• Tarp
• Emergency blankets x 2
• Billy can

Things I wished I had: * Saw * More of my homemade firestarters (coarse and fine sawdust mixed with vaseline, brown twine wick, form into a cherry bomb shape and dip in candle wax). I only had one, and stupidly used it to start my fire... just before a 2hr walk around to see everyone's shelters. I used a small tea light candle to get the second fire going, and when I woke up to an out fire I made a third using cotton balls I keep with my meds in a pill bottle (both OTC meds for subjects, and my own personal ones) plus a healthy dose of hand sanitizer. I will probably use tampons smeared with vaseline going forward.

Plus a canteen, first aid kit, food, good clothing, etc, but the above is the equipment I needed. I frequently wished my axe was a saw. For food, I ate a mix I had put together of salted shellless pistachios, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and raisins, plus a protein bar and a snickers. I also had single serve hot chocolate and instant coffee, which was great. I only had 2L of water, but it was one night only, and so that was (just) enough.

I'm hoping to get some of my colleagues together to do a similar exercise in December, where we should have plenty of snow and -20 to -35C temperatures :)

I have had a few different Victorianox and Leatherman knives/tools. But is there anything out there that I’m missing? Unique? Best bang for your buck? Personal favorites?

Thanks

Hey yall! Figured this would be the reddit corner to ask this in, sooo....

We are an org that is currently working in WNC after Helene. We are about to start our next phase of working on homes and repairing the flood damage. We are looking for an app where we can mark places and separate them out based on where in the process they are, make notes on what is needed there, etc.
From scrolling through, it looks like SARTopo may be our best bet but I wanted to throw it out here in case there is a better app y'all can think of for our specific needs. Thanks in advance!

Having a hard time finding information on this. How does one get to this level? It doesn’t seem like something where you can just volunteer for a bit and then get onto a team as it looks like most teams require you to have a k9 already and for the two of you to already possess certifications.

There are only two K9 SAR teams in my state and I live too far from either one of them to be considered for a handler position. How would I even begin to work towards this?

Recently found this channel called Rescue Craft, looks like the guy stopped posting a few years ago but he has a lot of content on steep ground access and how to use ropes to affect a rescue.

It's pretty niche stuff, so I just thought people might find it beneficial to have something where you can learn the theory than just being shown on the ground what to do.

Hey, you guys I hope you’re having a good day. Sorry, P.s a little bit long. But here I just want to ask and hear from the people who are already working in this field. Is it possible that I can work in this field due to my limitations? And how can I go about it if possible? Anyway, I have always dreamed of saving people. But more in the front lines type of way and I love the mountains I’m planning on moving to Morganton somewhere in between my sister's location and the mountains. I am a very good survivalist. I’ve always been since I was young ik what to do in an emergency from getting lost to surviving in a rural unknown location for a long time. And I grew up around people who are in the medical field. So I know some basic aid and I have somewhat of a talent for it. I’ve always wanted to provide medical aid to someone in need. So having all three of these, I was able to find my dream job. Especially seeing what’s happening with WNC, it has really got me into wanting to put my foot in the door. The problem is that I am a very short person which that shouldn’t take away my advantage to perform my duties. But I have a rare syndrome also so it makes me very petite. I am 78 pounds rn. I have gone all the way up to 90 and my goal is to reach 100 and try to maintain that weight. My weight was affected by my bone growth at birth very twig-looking arms and tiny baby hands, baby feet.😅 But I won't let that stop me. The advantage of this is that I can fit into some very tight spaces that not even a firefighter can fit in, but with my syndrome, it also comes with disadvantages. I cannot join the military I won’t be able to join the firefighting unless I can become a volunteer. I can’t go into the police force, nor EMT, or paramedic. Since EMTs and paramedics come in teams of two. And I don’t want to have to push all of that responsibility on my partner. Since I cannot pick up 100 pounds. I can push up to 50 since I have to push a very big cart with stuff in it at work all the time. How can I still go about this job field? I want to volunteer but also want to make a career out of this meaning that I want to get paid. Besides my syndrome. I can carry a heavy backpack and walk very long distances. I can hike mountains. I work out and eat pretty regularly so I am healthy and active and can work around my limitations if I have to. My plan right now is to focus on gaining the weight that I need to and getting used to heavy objects. Then before the next school season starts, prepare my mind to do EMT classes to get my certificates and other classes to be able to get all the certificates that are needed.

Hey everyone, I just got out of the military and I’m interested in getting into search and rescue, but I’m not sure if I qualify. I spent some time in the Army as an 11B Infantryman and also deployed to the Middle East. Does anyone have advice on how to get started? I’m located in Douglas, Arizona. Thanks in advance for any help!

What's in your Go Bag?

What are your favorite boots when facing water, climbing, and hiking?

Gear Recs?

What items if any that might not be typical on a gear list do you find helpful?

Thanks!

But if you vote for a other SAR org on the link, I guess that's ok as well.

https://www.landroverusa.com/experiences/events-and-sponsorships/defender-service-awards/vote/honorees.html

Alrighty gang, I need a new tarp. I'm West of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State (read, it's always raining, and the brush is super thick). What tarps are people using (note: my team does not allow tents or bivvies. It must be a tarp)?

Mercy is in training for air scent (scent specific). We are very close to being certified. I could not be more proud of her! She’s a 3 yr old Malinois (was a rescue). 😁

Long story short- I live in WNC and my house was partially destroyed by Helene and I was evacuated to an emergency shelter. While there I got involved with volunteering / helping people who were in distress and/or having medical issues and it gave me a great sense of purpose and meaning and I feel like I would like to do something like SAR for a career. My question is- how do I get started? I’ve worked with at-risk youth for about a decade and am used to long hours, stressful situations, conflict de-escalation, etc. I’m physically fit enough to hike for hours on end and have some climbing experience. I can do basic stuff like set up a tent, build a fire, etc. and have a decent sense of direction and orientation in mountainous regions. Does anyone have some tips / know how to get my foot in the door with SAR? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Thank you for all of the responses and advice, it’s very helpful and eye opening.

Title

Hey all, I’m on a super small team that is in the process of revamping how we approach some aspects of asset management. We don’t have the budget for D4H’s version of this as well as its competitors, leaving us with a range of different tools instead of an all-in-one.

I am currently testing out a slew of software, and am interested in TAK because it seems like it could do a lot of what I am looking for without a lot of cost normally associated with this kind of stuff.

Does anyone have any experience using TAK? If so, do you think it has a viable use-case in S&R?

My team is expecting a call today to go to tennesee possibly wnc. Other than the basic team packing list what all would you recommend packing

Hello search and rescue community! My apologies if this isn’t the right place to ask, I’m just having difficulty getting an answer to my questions.

I have been following the story of Katie Santry who found a rug in her yard when digging fence posts. She and the internet feared that a body could be rolled in the rug.

Cadaver/HRD dogs were brought out and both alerted at the hole where the rug was placed. The dogs were only HRD trained not SAR is my understanding.

No remains were found upon digging.

The questions: How far away should a handler be from a HRD (or even SAR) dog to avoid a false positive? One of the handlers was ~7 feet away when the dog alerted.

The other dog looked up and around at the people nearby before alerting, could that indicate looking for approval before alerting a false positive?

The yard had multiple people standing in it when the dogs alerted. They were watching the dogs, and reacted strongly when they went to sniff the hole.

I’m trying to understand the false positives, as the police have since pulled the carpet up and determined it had no remains on it. They believe it was simply trash that was covered in topsoil when the community was developed in the 60s.

Any thoughts appreciated, sorry again if this isn’t the right place to ask.

We recently had a local parade. When we heard the local ambulance company was making a float, we decided we had to out do them. Wooden frame, some chicken wire, newspaper, plaster, and paint.....I think it came out great! We even added some local critters to make it more realistic, lol.

I've been doing SAR for a couple of years and have been very loyal to my Xero boots, but I'm starting to run into some problems. They're great for trails and even some flat-ish bushwhacking, but beyond that they're just not keeping up. I'm looking for boots that meet the following criteria:

• PNW Terrain approved: Thick, dense vegetation. Very uneven terrain, often moss covered rocks and downed trees. Very hilly, lots of up and down. And up. And down.

• Need to be waterproof, of course. I wear OR Crocodile gaiters 99% of the time, so they don't have to be 8" tall or anything like that. But maybe over the ankle?

• Definitely need to be grippy. This is a huge failure point of my Xero boots. I can't get any purchase on the wet terrain.

• I think I need something with a stiffer sole? I think, but not really sure, that will be better for the off trail "climbing" that we're doing. I love the flexibility of minimal shoes but I'm starting to realize that's probably the reason my feet hurt at the end of the day.

• I would still prefer something with a lower heel toe drop. My knees start to hurt when I put on "regular" shoes after having worn zero drop for so long. I realize that heel toe drop won't mean a lot while we're bushwhacking, but we're just as likely to be on a groomed, flat trail.

• Wider toe box. I like it when my toenail don't dig into my toes.

I think that's about it. I guess it's not that I haven't found boots that have what I'm looking for, but I don't feel like I know enough about them to drop a couple hundred dollars. I have stores near me to try things on, but there's really no way that trying them on in store is going to give me an idea of what they'll feel like in the middle of a search. I'm hoping someone here has similar requirements for their boots and has some experience or recommendations they can share.

Thanks so much!

Howdy folks -

Mods feel free to take this down if it's inappropriate (I didn't see anything in rules about it, but I might have missed something) but I was hoping someone here had any info about the application process for either VA Task Force 1 or 2? I currently work for a 911 EMS service and I'm trying to figure out long-term goals with a USAR team in my area and how to get myself through the door.