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Rescue and Marine Resources Division
Rescue Division
Purpose: To provide specialist rescue equipment and personnel if not readily available in a rural or urban SAR incident to assist a primary response agency. To provide rapid underwater
search and recovery services where the Incident is beyond traditional Dive Team capabilities or no other underwater response team is available.
Concept: Individual rescue specialists training as a team for the utilization as a stand-by, on scene, resource.
Overview: The Rescue Division consists primarily of heavy rescue / confined space, rope rescue and underwater rescue [dive] trained personnel. Personnel are trained for positive
interfacing during multi-agency situations. Stand-by incidents can range from: a missing subject in a off road vehicle that when found may require extrication to a missing child with a
possibility of being in a confined space.
In conjunction with other rescue agencies the rescue specialists train in:
- Wilderness automobile extrication
- Confined space rescue
- Heavy rescue
- Collapsed structure rescue
- Scene control and ICS
- Open and inland water SAR
- High angle rope rescue
The team is available when a rural or urban SAR incident has the potential to require specialist rescue equipment and personnel that are not readily available for on scene stand-by.
Rescue - Land
Rescue Training:
Team members of the Rescue Division are experienced ground SAR members that have served in Search and Rescue for many years. These members have diverse backgrounds in both
emergency services and life experiences making them ideal for challenging emergency situations. The bulk of members recruited for Rescue have served or are serving with the; military,
ambulance, fire or other emergency services.
The Rescue Division training and continuing education includes:
- Light Heavy Rescue Course [basic disaster response]
- Light Heavy Rescue Course Advanced [introduction to Urban SAR]
- Confine Space Workshop [entry and rescue]
- Self Contained Breathing Apparatus [Scott and Drager]
- Urban Rope Rescue [difficult access and egress]
- Basic Fire Fighting [stored pressure extinguishers]
- Automotive Entrapment Rescue and Exrication [rural and urban]
- Chain Saw Skills and Safety Course
- Heavy Rescue 1 [stages of rescue, hand tools, light hydraulics]
- Heavy Rescue 2 [pneumatic tools, powered hydraulics, cutting torches]
- Explosive Pressure Breaching (certifcation required)
- Scene Stabilization and Assessment
- Air, Land and Marine transportation and operations
* for water and Underwater see Dive
Marine Resources Division - Dive
Concept: Utilizing professional underwater specialists cross trained in underwater search techniques to safely access depths and areas beyond the safe limits of sport divers.
Overview: Dive Response members are comprised of professional and commercial divers with a solid core of seven personnel maintained for primary response and a auxiliary team for
secondary support. The primary team performs the assessment of all prospective members and is responsible for setting and maintaining team standards. All requests for response are
evaluated by the on duty Dive Unit Chief prior to resource deployment. Gear for dive responses is kept with the team members with the exception being the marine vessels [Hovercrafts
and Boats].
The Dive Units capabilities are constantly evolving as underwater technologies improve. Response times are dependent on the depth and location of the incident. The Dive Unit utilizes
some of the following equipment:
- Specialized gas mixtures
- Surface support hose gear [300']
- Diver to surface wired communication
- Diver to diver wireless communications
- Underwater down-loadable dive computers
- Underwater to surface video system
- High resolution side scan sonar
- Pulse induction metal detector
- Hypothermia inhalation resuscitation device
- Victim recovery device [VRS]
The minimum entry requirement for persons desiring dive recovery training include: 150 documented dives, Rescue Diver certification, minimum Dive Master, a relevant underwater
speciality and be able to meet entry requirements for Dive Rescue International for SAR training.
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