Mounted search and rescue

["IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN" <ilichten1@verizon.net>]

Purchasing a copy of a standard or borrowing it from a library does not obligate your organization to adopt the published standard as a performance requirement for your

membership.   The biggest implications are now legalities.  There is a published standard for performance now.  Even if your authority having jurisdiction (the people who pay the bills for your training and/or authorize you to respond to calls) does not require you to have written SOGs and training plans you should have both as a matter of good organization. You should also enforce those SOGs to the extent possible.   

 

Nobody has successfully sued a wilderness SAR organization over its training and methods because there are no compulsory standards in most areas.  A city police department was successfully sued because they failed to look in a car trunk on arrival and when somebody looked 3 days later it was too late.  More regulation is coming.

In Pennsylvania wilderness SAR is being regulated by the Commonwealth’s Health Department, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services with full implementation of regulations in 2 years, and no funding.

 

If you have a choice, pick which standards you want to adopt or modify for adoption.  There are various sources: National Fire Protection Association, ASTM International,

The Mountain Rescue Association, training to NASAR’s tests, writing your own. But do something, do it soon, and let others know what you have adopted so we can work

together.

 

Irv Lichtenstein

Founding Member, ASTM F32

Chief of Operations

SE PA SAR