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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Propose to your local AHJ

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  • From: Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Propose to your local AHJ
  • Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 12:55:19 -0700

Chuck, your unit is based in Knox County, Ohio, and the AHJ at
hand is your county's EMA (emergency management agency) director.

So, the first question for you is this: In Ohio, is SAR normally
a function of EMA (emergency management agencies)? In most of
the US, it is a function of the county sheriff's office, and the
county sheriff's office and EMA are separate organizations. The
answer to this question may help to define how you request to be
called out.

Other AHJs you may want to consider are the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR), which has some involvement in SAR in
Ohio, your county sheriff's office, and EMA and sheriff's offices
in all adjacent counties. http://www.ema.ohio.gov/county.htm
shows that Knox County has 7 adjacent counties and several more
within short distances.

By the way, in adjacent Delaware county is Emily King, who has
been deeply involved in developing standards for SAR via ASTM:
http://www.dnr.ohio.gov/news/may02/0510emilyking.htm .

The next question: what specific SAR needs do your AHJs have?
And which of those needs are not currently being met by other
SAR units? And which of those needs, particularly the *unmet*
ones, could your unit reasonably be prepared to meet? For
example, rarely are there enough local resources available for
hasty and/or night search (hasty searches often are night
searches), and horses are particularly valuable for both kinds
of searches.

It is important to work your way through these questions before
you "propose" to any one AHJ; other AHJs may have other needs,
which you could meet more easily and effectively.

Related to these questions is this very important one: what
kind of SAR do your unit members want to do? Eg, most MSAR
field teams focus on search, not rescue. Some field teams do
not ever want to search at night, and cannot respond quickly
enough to be effective for hasty search. Also, will you be
able to field at least one MSAR team year round, or would you
be better off simply presenting yourselves as a 3-, 2-, or 1-
season resource? Some SAR units try to do it all: technical
rescue, land, water, air support, communications, management,
tracking, scenting dogs and horses, large animal rescue, and
disaster emergency response. Few units can pull of providing
all these specialized services, much less doing them all well.

Una Smith
New Mexico




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