Wilderness Rescue Strike Team
The Wilderness Rescue Strike Team of the Bedford County Wilderness Search Team was designed to meet the special needs that are currently occurring in Search and Rescue and Wilderness Emergency Response. There are four areas of Wilderness Emergency Response and Specialized Search and Rescue that the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team was designed to meet. The four areas were Rapid Rescue Teams, Moving Water Search, High Angle Search and Rescue and Wilderness Rescue Emergencies.
Rapid Rescue Crews A relatively new concept in search and rescue is the use of Rapid Rescue Crews. Rapid Rescue Crews are an emergency response crew created from available resources at the scene of a missing person incident. The Rapid Rescue Crew is a 4-6-person unit. The crew is made up of highly experienced personnel with a high level of training (Emergency Medical Technician or higher, Technician level rope Rescue, Operations level Swiftwater Rescue and Minimum of NASAR SAR Tech II [Recommended NASAR SAR Tech I]).
This Rapid Rescue Crew remains on standby at the Incident Command Post, Staging Area or a forward Camp. The unit is equipped with all the necessary equipment to respond to any searcher related emergency that could occur during the search. The Rapid Response Crew is responsible for a quick response to the injured searcher, medical care, extrication and transportation of the searcher to definitive care. Due to the high level of skill and training needed to fill the positions of the Rapid Rescue Crew not all search and rescue personnel are qualified to fill these positions.
An Incident Commander for a missing Person Incident can request the Bedford County Wilderness Search Team’s Wilderness Rescue Strike Team to fill this position during the emergency. The Rapid rescue crew is designed to respond to searcher emergency and is not intended to treat the subject when found. The Strike Team responds with personnel that fill the above qualifications as well as the necessary equipment to perform the job.
Moving Water Search From time to time a missing person incidents occur that requires search crews to search around or inside of moving water. The searching of moving water (including low head dams and holes) requires searchers to have specialized skills and equipment. All moving water searchers need to be equipped with Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) and water level thermal protective clothing (wetsuits or dry suits).
All Wilderness Rescue Strike Team members are trained to a minimum of Swiftwater Rescue Operations. This training gives the responder the skills to perform self rescue, tethered swimming, diagonal zip line crossings, low water crossing and water based patient managing. They are trained to create high lines allowing a searcher to be lowered above a low head dam or hole in order to search for an entrapped subject. The members are also trained to work from the downstream side of strainers to search for the subject.
The Strike Team members are trained to make a determination if water levels are to high for safe operations and can make recommendations to postpone water search tasks until water levels are lower. When the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team is dispatched for moving water search operations, all members bring the necessary safety and search equipment to operate in this environment.
High Angle Search and Rescue Many locations in Pennsylvania are of non-horizontal (or high angle) in nature. When individuals get lost around this type of terrain, the area needs searched. To perform searches in high angle environment searchers need specialized equipment. The equipment includes life safety ropes and rope rescue equipment. The members of the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team are trained to the Rope Rescue Technician level allowing the strike team members to operate in high angle environments.
The members are also equipped to rescue any subject they find in the high angle environment. The members are trained to package and extricate these subjects from the high angle environment. When the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team is dispatched to assist in searching in high angle environments, the members bring all the necessary high angle rope and rescue equipment with them.
Wilderness Rescue Emergencies On occasions emergencies occur in the wilderness that does not require searching. Hunters fall out of tree stands, ATV riders and snowmobiles wreck, kayakers and canoers are injured on the river, climbers fall and get hurt, etc. These situations may not require a search, the location of the individual is known. Instead they simply need accessed stabilized and transported to definitive care. Most fire department and emergency medical service providers are not trained with the special skills to perform this type of rescue.
All Wilderness Rescue Strike Team members are certified to the minimum of a PA Department of Health Emergency Medical Technician. All members also are certified to a minimum of a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician. The members have extensive training in wilderness rescue and transport. When the Wilderness rescue Strike Team is dispatched for a wilderness rescue all Strike Team members respond with a minimum of wilderness level basic life support equipment.
Dispatching Any emergency Response organization can request just the Bedford County Wilderness Search Team’s Wilderness Rescue Strike Team for any of the above response needs. To request the strike team contact Bedford County 911 center. When requesting the Strike Team inform the dispatch center of the type of response the strike team will be responding to and what services they will be expected to provide.
The Wilderness Rescue Strike Team of the Bedford County Wilderness Search Team was designed to meet the special needs that are currently occurring in Search and Rescue and Wilderness Emergency Response. There are four areas of Wilderness Emergency Response and Specialized Search and Rescue that the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team was designed to meet. The four areas were Rapid Rescue Teams, Moving Water Search, High Angle Search and Rescue and Wilderness Rescue Emergencies.
Rapid Rescue Crews A relatively new concept in search and rescue is the use of Rapid Rescue Crews. Rapid Rescue Crews are an emergency response crew created from available resources at the scene of a missing person incident. The Rapid Rescue Crew is a 4-6-person unit. The crew is made up of highly experienced personnel with a high level of training (Emergency Medical Technician or higher, Technician level rope Rescue, Operations level Swiftwater Rescue and Minimum of NASAR SAR Tech II [Recommended NASAR SAR Tech I]).
This Rapid Rescue Crew remains on standby at the Incident Command Post, Staging Area or a forward Camp. The unit is equipped with all the necessary equipment to respond to any searcher related emergency that could occur during the search. The Rapid Response Crew is responsible for a quick response to the injured searcher, medical care, extrication and transportation of the searcher to definitive care. Due to the high level of skill and training needed to fill the positions of the Rapid Rescue Crew not all search and rescue personnel are qualified to fill these positions.
An Incident Commander for a missing Person Incident can request the Bedford County Wilderness Search Team’s Wilderness Rescue Strike Team to fill this position during the emergency. The Rapid rescue crew is designed to respond to searcher emergency and is not intended to treat the subject when found. The Strike Team responds with personnel that fill the above qualifications as well as the necessary equipment to perform the job.
Moving Water Search From time to time a missing person incidents occur that requires search crews to search around or inside of moving water. The searching of moving water (including low head dams and holes) requires searchers to have specialized skills and equipment. All moving water searchers need to be equipped with Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) and water level thermal protective clothing (wetsuits or dry suits).
All Wilderness Rescue Strike Team members are trained to a minimum of Swiftwater Rescue Operations. This training gives the responder the skills to perform self rescue, tethered swimming, diagonal zip line crossings, low water crossing and water based patient managing. They are trained to create high lines allowing a searcher to be lowered above a low head dam or hole in order to search for an entrapped subject. The members are also trained to work from the downstream side of strainers to search for the subject.
The Strike Team members are trained to make a determination if water levels are to high for safe operations and can make recommendations to postpone water search tasks until water levels are lower. When the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team is dispatched for moving water search operations, all members bring the necessary safety and search equipment to operate in this environment.
High Angle Search and Rescue Many locations in Pennsylvania are of non-horizontal (or high angle) in nature. When individuals get lost around this type of terrain, the area needs searched. To perform searches in high angle environment searchers need specialized equipment. The equipment includes life safety ropes and rope rescue equipment. The members of the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team are trained to the Rope Rescue Technician level allowing the strike team members to operate in high angle environments.
The members are also equipped to rescue any subject they find in the high angle environment. The members are trained to package and extricate these subjects from the high angle environment. When the Wilderness Rescue Strike Team is dispatched to assist in searching in high angle environments, the members bring all the necessary high angle rope and rescue equipment with them.
Wilderness Rescue Emergencies On occasions emergencies occur in the wilderness that does not require searching. Hunters fall out of tree stands, ATV riders and snowmobiles wreck, kayakers and canoers are injured on the river, climbers fall and get hurt, etc. These situations may not require a search, the location of the individual is known. Instead they simply need accessed stabilized and transported to definitive care. Most fire department and emergency medical service providers are not trained with the special skills to perform this type of rescue.
All Wilderness Rescue Strike Team members are certified to the minimum of a PA Department of Health Emergency Medical Technician. All members also are certified to a minimum of a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician. The members have extensive training in wilderness rescue and transport. When the Wilderness rescue Strike Team is dispatched for a wilderness rescue all Strike Team members respond with a minimum of wilderness level basic life support equipment.
Dispatching Any emergency Response organization can request just the Bedford County Wilderness Search Team’s Wilderness Rescue Strike Team for any of the above response needs. To request the strike team contact Bedford County 911 center. When requesting the Strike Team inform the dispatch center of the type of response the strike team will be responding to and what services they will be expected to provide.
