With the recent discussion about standards, I was wondering how many
(and which) States have published MSAR standards in place. In Virginia
there is a complete set of search and rescue standards that are
maintained by the Virginia Search and Rescue Council (VASARCo) and
equine standards are included. The Virginia Department of Emergency
Management (VDEM) oversees SAR operations in the State and utilizes
recognized SAR resources for their EMAC MOU's. All VA resources must
meet the approval of VASARCo who is the inspecting SAR entity for VDEM.
Currently the State of Maryland does not have established SAR or MSAR
standards and the burden of training, certification and insurance falls
upon each SAR team.
Una, you know the MSAR-Riders historical files better than anyone else.
Would you happen to know how many States have published MSAR standards
or should we poll the list's readers?
Tomi`
TROTSAR