Recent reports claim that after-work shifts for some SAR professionals include going out to dinner or grabbing a drink with their colleagues, which includes using paid gear such as vehicles or equipment. This is not only expensive, but it can also be difficult to do while responding to an incident!
It is important to remember that your vehicle was donated by someone and now belongs to the agency you work for. If this article made you feel bad about spending money on things like drinks or dinners, ask yourself how much money your employer will pay for your meal or if they would reimburse you for the cost of the beverage.
Also, make sure your department knows about these activities so you don’t get caught and fired for donating equipment.
Drinking during emergencies can actually put lives in danger. When volunteers are working long hours, they may forget what they had before the shift started or why they left home in the first place. Drinking and eating breaks can sometimes be the last thing on their mind until they walk back into the station.
This could cause them to miss something important or even have a accident because they weren’t paying attention. All of this costs tax dollars and raises questions about whether funding these experiences is ethical.
SAR agencies must balance the need for resources and training with ethics. Using paid equipment should always be done with caution and with clear procedures in case something happens.
Search and Rescue Only Uses Their Equipment Once A Week
Recent reports claim that after-hour searches are to blame for some of the recent deadly wildfires in California. According to these sources, when SRUs (search and rescue units) do perform their jobs, they only have their equipment at their disposal once per week!
This is quite simply not true.
SRUs work long hours every day, often with very little sleep. When they are called out to conduct an emergency response, they are typically given several hours’ notice before being deployed. This gives them time to gather what resources they need and prepare themselves for the job ahead.
They also have access to aid from outside agencies like SWAT teams or fire departments so they can ask for help if necessary. In fact, many times external responders provide additional services while working alongside SRUs during a disaster.
Search and Rescue Never Uses Their Equipment
When an accident happens, people often wonder what equipment is used to help find survivors. Unfortunately, you will never see SART using any of their gear unless there are no more updates or they have run out completely!
When your department has enough supplies for all contingencies, why not donate some so that others can be equipped with life saving tools?
It costs very little to buy extra radios, vests, and other small pieces of equipment, and it makes a big difference in helping save lives. A lot of first responders work hard doing everything they can to preserve someone’s life, and this just isn’t done yet. If everyone donated one item every month, we would almost certainly saved many lives by donating something already!
Thank you for reading our blog post! We hope you enjoyed it and learned something new. Please comment below and tell us about how donations helped your local SAR team.
Search and Rescue Frequency
After an emergency happens, such as a car accident, earthquake, or flood, people often wonder what kind of services are being offered to those affected. More frequently than not, you will find that there is only one type of service given — help finding someone else involved!
Sadly, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, after a major disaster occurs, other types of services become available, but it can be difficult to know if these are needed and how much they are provided.
There is no standard way to identify whether the need for a certain type of service has been met or not, so some time must be spent figuring out which ones are applicable in your area.
When looking into the availability of different SAR services, make sure to verify their legitimacy by searching online and talking with individuals who have used them.
The Importance of Search and Rescue Frequency
When an accident happens, time is one of the most important factors in saving lives. How quickly people come to aid can make a big difference in whether someone survives or not.
After a disaster, there’s usually a delay as survivors try to figure out what happened and who needs help. They may also be distracted by things like trying to find family members or figuring out if they need medical attention themselves.
Incident reports take time to write up so it can add to that delay. Even more time is spent confirming those reports with other sources such as social media, cell phones, and police records. All this takes time which makes it harder for people to arrive at the scene and start helping.
Search and rescue (SAR) teams have their own guidelines about how many minutes they should wait before going into action but general recommendations are to stay off the radio and phone calls while waiting for responders to show up.
Why Do They Respond So Quickly?
When there is an urgent need for help, people are willing to go above and beyond to provide it. This is why professional rescuers spend so much time looking out for help!
When you call 9-1-1, law enforcement agencies will often have trained professionals ready to respond in minutes or even hours.
This is because they have practiced responding to similar calls in the past and built tight networks of resources and information that aid them in their jobs.
Practicing with the details and steps of what needs to be done makes your body and mind more prepared when you actually run into something like this.
People who work in these fields understand how important it is to respond quickly and correctly to make sure everyone is helped as soon as possible.
Is There A Standard Time Frame?
After an emergency happens, like say someone breaks into your home, people often wonder what time frame professionals work during their response. Does it depend on the situation and how busy things are at the time?
Most first responders work around the clock unless they have determined that there is no longer an urgent need for help or they feel too tired to continue working.
This is not always the case, though! Some agencies may only be allowed to work certain hours due to local laws or regulations.
Furthermore, some agencies have strict rules about when they can go off duty so they cannot even sleep until the crisis has been resolved.
Are There Any Differences Between Different Types Of Missions?
Search and rescue (SAR) missions can be broken down into three main categories, according to what type of mission they are. These are urgent, immediate, or normal operations.
Urgent SAR is typically for an event such as a house fire or earthquake that requires professional help immediately. This could mean rescuing people or saving belongings.
Immediate SAR looks more like routine disaster response work, usually only requiring a few hours to complete. Examples include responding to boiler explosions or floods.
Normal day-to-day SAR works tends to run longer than one or two days and doesn’t necessarily have a set deadline.
Does SAR Have An Exact Definition?
Search and Rescue (SAR) is an interesting term to define. Some say it only applies to natural disasters, while others include man-made or humanitarian crises. Others still believe it is only for major incidents whereas some feel that any activity beyond a call for help is considered SR!
When talking about SR in terms of time, we typically refer to “Entering into Operations” which is defined as when operational resources are deployed away from home base. This can be at either the team level or individual rescuer level depending on whether someone has been recruited or if they take part respectively.
The average person probably knows what the word ‘rescue’ means but there is quite a bit of variability in how people describe what SAR actually is. In fact, no one really defines it fully!
This is because it changes with context. For example, different countries have different levels of preparedness and this impacts what types of missions get run.
In Canada, our national organization is called Canadian Volunteer Emergency Service (CVER). We also have state organizations such as Ontario Provincial Command (OPCOM), and local groups across the country. These groups work together under OPCOM to provide support during emergencies.
Canada’s system is very much focused on supporting individuals who need assistance re-entering their normal lives after an incident. This is sometimes referred to as Post Incident Recovery (PIR).