How do I get started in Search and Rescue?

 SAR is deployed after Emergency Services dispatch receives a call for service from the public or form other agencies. Dispatch would route the call to the appropriate agency, as they do now. In the case of a SAR call, the YCSO SAR Coordinator (to be named) would be assigned the call, determine if resources are needed and what specific teams, such as Ground, K9, Drone, Etc., and a deployment would begin.

Professional and Volunteer SAR units do not self-deploy. As they are typically under the jurisdiction of a governmental organization, it is necessary that a hierarchical structure exists for coordinated management. In our case, this is the York County Sheriff's Office (YCSO)

Ideally, this consists of a state-level office of Emergency Services, a County version and a city version, if appropriate. For our purposes, we are talking about a county-level OEM, operated by the YCSO. This office would coordinate both up and down the command structure, ensuring that all required resources are requested and coordinated at the city level, as well as “Out of County” resources, such as the Coast Guard, when required. Overall Command authority for Emergency response would lie with this office if a regional response were necessary, otherwise, command authority would continue to rest with the originating agency, i.e. LE or Fire, as would be consistent with the Incident Command System (ICS) structure. For example, a lost hiker, requiring a backcountry search effort would be a Law Enforcement function, an Inshore water rescue would be a fire Service function, etc.

Yes and No.

For the sake of clarity and removing confusion, Let’s address some typical terminology differences and how they’re used by the various Emergency Services agencies.

Search and Rescue: Typically used by governmental and and Professional Volunteer SAR organizations, the Coast Guard and military assets (CSAR). Includes:

• Organized searches for lost or missing subjects, i.e., lost, dementia, in backcountry and urban interface environments
• 1st responder medical services for sick or injured subjects in these environments.
• Safe extraction of the subjects from the backcountry environment and transfer to advanced medical services, if necessary.
• Can include Swiftwater and ice rescue 
• Mutual aid assistance, as directed by the “parent” agency
• K9 Search (Air-Scent and trailing)

Fire Rescue: roles and specialties that typically fall to Professional and Volunteer Fire Service organizations. Includes:

• Inland, open-water rescues
• Ice rescue
• Swiftwater rescue
• Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) i.e., building collapse, explosions.
• Mass-casualty incidents
• Mutual Aid Services, as required.

Law Enforcement SAR: In most states, SAR services are the responsibility of the local law enforcement organization, which is typically the local Sheriff’s Office. Some states in New England, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, for example, are unique in that the responsibility for SAR services lies with the state Dept of Wildlife/Fisheries/Game Wardens. (In Maine, specifically, it lies under the Warden Service of the Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife) As we do not currently have a Warden Service in New Haven, We will use the model that is consistent across the USA and be under the jurisdiction of the YCSO.
The typical duties for LE-based SAR are consistent with those outlined above under the Search and Rescue heading but also include:

• Often utilized for evidence searches of known or suspected crime scenes. Specific training is required to perform these searches.
• K9 HRD (Human Remains Detection) tasking
• Mutual aid services as required.

This team is limited to the LE SAR and Search and Rescue operational environment.