Mounted search and rescue

[Richard Judd <rjudd@intertech-usa.com>]

I have been monitoring this list for some time and found it a valuable
source of information in regards to what other SAR teams are doing across
the United States. 

I was wanting to introduce myself and our MSAR team and I hope that by
starting this, other members of this list could do the same.


My name is Rick Judd and I am a Squad leader for the Eureka Fire Protection
District's Mounted Search & Rescue Team and Technical Large Animal Emergency
Rescue Team. Eureka is a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri - approximately 40
miles southwest of St. Louis. We have 23 members that are volunteers along
with a fire department Battalion Chief as a "liaison" to the fire
department. Last year we were called out 12 times and so far this year, we
have been called out 3 times - out for 4 days in the most recent call out.

This unit was created 3-4 years ago and has evolved from a group of horse
enthusiasts willing to perform searches to a more professional and
structured unit. We now have a comprehensive set of Standard Operating
Guidelines and certifications/qualifications for members and horses. Among
other things, we are required to wear "uniforms" (orange shirt/jacket, black
pants), helmets (all the same color and lettering), and safety glasses. We
train "in-house" one evening a month and "out in the field" one weekend day
a month. We train in things such as map, compass, orienteering, GPS, UTM
coordinate systems, crime/evidence scene preservation, crash scenes,
incident command, communications, clandestine labs, equine first aid, and
search & rescue principles/techniques. In addition there is fire department
required training on things such as CERT, hazardous materials awareness,
hazardous materials operations, first aid, CPR, and AED.

There is a sub-group of members that have become trained and certified in
Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue. We have equipped and trained this
unit for incidents such how to safely prepare for and approach large animal
incidents such as overturned and wrecked trailers or livestock haulers,
large animals loose on the road, large animals stuck in mud or ravines, and
incidents where people might be trapped with the animal.

Recently we added a small group of communications experts to our team. These
individuals are HAM radio operators that also have access to commercial
radios. This Communications Team will be responsible for setting up
repeaters and relay points such that the SAR teams can communicate to the
command post. Additionally the Communications Team will track the SAR teams
when the teams periodically radio in their GPS indicated UTM coordinates.


Anyway - that's it in a nutshell. If anyone else would care to share some
information about their group, I would love to hear it.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Judd
Squad Leader - Mounted Search & Rescue Team
Squad Leader - Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Team
http://www.efpd.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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