Bonner County Search & Rescue

   9 Aug 2010

 

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Training

For upcoming training and exercises, see the calendar and associated links.

  NIMS Required of First Responders

The State of Idaho Department of Homeland Security requires that all emergency responders complete the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and  Incident Command System (ICS) courses.  Several members of BCSAR were in one of the early NIMS classes held in Bonner County.  Click here for a list of self-paced, on-line, and instructor lead courses.  These courses are FREE.  Instructor-lead courses are best as they give the student the opportunity to ask question and participate in discussions.  Self-paced, if one has the discipline to study on one's own, is faster.

   

Land navigation is a necessary skill in wilderness areas.  It includes reading regular and topographical maps and using a GPS.

Training  paid off with the BCSAR team winning awards at the Idaho State Search & Rescue Convention.

 

Sometimes it becomes necessary to stay over night on the trail which makes wilderness survival skills essential.  No one wants to suspend the search when a child or senior citizen is lost. 

 

A mock search is a simulation where members can practice every aspect of a real search without the pressure of knowing that a person's life may be hanging in the balance.

This search on Baldy turned into a training exercise when the missing person was found by family members sleeping soundly at a friend's house.

 

Mantracking is not for everyone.  It requires extreme patience, a keen eye, and the ability to interpret what one sees.  This introduction to mantracking was presented at an Idaho State Search & Rescue meeting.  Several BCSAR members were sent for further training.

Course Instructors

Personnel with training in emergency medical care are essential to the success of every mission. There is always the possibility that the person for whom we are searching is injured.  And, accidents can happen to searchers as well although typical injuries are scratches, bee stings, and blisters.

Both classroom and practical skills training are required.  Extrication and the use of the "Jaws of Life" is can be helpful tools to a rescuer. 

Training in high and low angle rescue is a must in the mountains where the rescued may need to be brought up from the base of a cliff or  down a steep incline.

 

With the amount of water in Bonner and surrounding counties, training for ice and flowing water rescues are necessary.

 

 

Training can be a great excuse to get outdoors and do what one loves to do best.

 

 

 

Every search has the potential to turn into a crime scene.  It is essential that SAR personnel have the knowledge and skills to assist law enforcement.

Urban search and rescue may be necessary following natural and manmade disasters.

Ron Korn, Commander µ  208-265-0975  µ  commander@bcssar.org

PO Box 11   Ponderay, ID 83852

webmaster@bcssar.org

Photo of Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille taken from Schweitzer Mountain in Sep 2008 by Evelyn