*** Search Management for the Initial Response Incident Commander *** From: "Rick LaValla" To: Subject: new subscriber hello Date: February 18, 2000 17:15 Hello to all, from Rick LaValla, ERI International We have made great progress with new courses, concepts, innovations in SAR management during the past two years. We have a 3-day, SOP driven, basic course, and are working on a 2-day advance course. The thinking is this: most SAR missions are received by personnel who have little or no background/knowledge of SAR, yet because they are the responsible agency, they must begin actions. So we have developed a "best practices" SOP (6 steps) and field guide to guide the "must do" tasks for the first operational period (0 to 24 hours). A series of "dick and jane" worksheets assist the process. This "initial attack" 3-day course introduces concepts, but uses no numbers nor math calculations. Surveys conducted in the US, UK and Canada show that most missions are resolved within 24 hours (70 to 80% of the time). This first course focuses on the first op period. The advance course focuses on the "second op period and beyond." This course focuses on the incident action planning process that usually begins as the mission continues and more experienced/knowledgeable personnel arrive to run the show. This course educates participants on all the latest in search theory and tactics. So, the basic course is SOP driven, and the advance course is process driven. Course Details: "Search Management for the Initial Response Incident Commander" ( 3 Day Course ) Course Purpose: - To give the participants enough training and experience (through table tops) to conduct a search mission immediately using a best practices standard operating procedure (SOP) 6 step process. - Provide an orientation on both Search and Rescue management concepts, with emphasis on the basic concepts that will assist the participant in the planning of the initial response operational period. - Orientation to the Incident Command System (ICS) and initial response procedures. - Development of an initial response SOP. Objectives, upon completion, a participant should be able to: - Manage a search (first operational period). - List the crucials of search management. - Explain the value of a SAR Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA). - List components of an effective SAR program. - Apply incident management principles (use of ICS). - Apply the 6-step incident response process. - Identify, apply, discuss search management principles (essential fundamentals). - Initiate an effective and appropriate response to a missing person report. - Apply initial response resources in a SAR map exercise. - Anticipate and manage changes in incident complexity (or be able to - set stage for multiple operational periods). - Manage crucial search management information. Course Content: - Search Management Philosophy, Crucials, Concepts. - Components Of An Effective SAR Program (Local SAR Capability Assessment for Readiness): - SAR program development and management. - Incident Command System (ICS). - SAR Mission Overview (Anatomy of a Search). - First Notice. - Initial Response (SOP Driven). - Search Area Identification (Probability of Area). Where to Search: Discussion of the Process and Basic Principles to Establish the Search Area. - Search Tactics (Probability of Detection). How to Search: - Discussion of Search Methods and Probability of Detection. - Extended Operations Overview: How To Set The Stage. - Rescue / Recovery Operations. - Stakeholders And Critical Allies (External Influences). - Mission Termination. - Post Mission. Here's further information from the course workbook: Preface This handbook is designed as a working document for individuals responsible for investigating reports of lost or overdue individuals, and for initiating appropriate search responses. It is written to lend itself to field use. Explanatory theory has been kept to the minimum level necessary to understand and utilize the tools contained in the handbook. The handbook is structured around the Six Step Process. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) developed the Six Step Process, also known as the Incident Response Process. It’s designed to provide a systematic and logical method whereby commanders and managers are able to make rapid decisions on tactics and the application of resources. As the incident evolves and more information becomes available, the Six Steps are repeated. It is a continuous, cyclic process. The Six Step Process is extremely versatile; it is just as valuable as a quick mental technique for the individual responder as it is as a means of structuring a more formalised response to a larger incident. As the user gains experience it will become an instinctive process that can be applied automatically and continuously. In this handbook, you will find some descriptive text to explain what needs to happen and why for each of the Six Steps. For each Step there is a series of bullet points the must do’s which are tasks which must be carried out before you move on to the next Step. Where there is a need for explanatory material then this is contained within the text at that point. Any forms or working documents which are referred to in the text and which the user needs are at the back of the handbook. Foreword It has been estimated that at least 80% of incidents involving searches for missing persons are over in hours rather than days. Most of these searches, and indeed the first hours of the majority of incidents that last for a number of days, are managed by persons other than search specialists. These Initial Response Incident Commanders are often emergency-response general practitioners, for example deputy sheriffs, rangers, constables, troopers, police officers, fire chiefs or SAR team leaders. The agencies these first responders represent have the legal authority and responsibility to search, but not the incident workload or resources to justify cadres of Search Management specialists ready for each overdue person report. These agencies need their field personnel to have the knowledge and ability to respond appropriately to overdue person reports, and to manage these incidents professionally and competently for at least the first operational period. Until recently (May 1999) no course existed to directly address these requirements. Existing courses such as Managing Search Operations, Managing the Lost Person Incident and Managing the Search Function contain excellent bodies of knowledge. However, the sheer volume of information, the focus on mathematical theory and the emphasis on large, multi-day incidents contained in these courses does not provide a clear step-by-step practical approach for the Initial Response Incident Commander. The need for a practical-based course focusing specifically on the fundamentals has become increasingly apparent as the body of knowledge contained in existing courses becomes more complex. Such a course must focus on the skills and knowledge needed for the first Operational Period, the only Operational Period common to all searches. It should also lay the proper foundations should the incident extend beyond that. This course addresses that need. It has been developed by a team of search practitioners led by Rick LaValla of ERI International. Rick is one of the authors of the original Search Management course "Managing the Search Function." Rick brought together a team consisting of Hugh Dougher (National Park Service), Rick Goodman (New Mexico State SAR Coordinator), Chris Long (Washington State SAR Coordinator), together with Dave Perkins and Pete Roberts (the Centre for Search Research, a UK based charity). The six contributors put together the material to run a pilot course at Enumclaw, Washington State, in May 1999, to an audience with a range of SAR experience. This was well received by the participants, although in truth the instructors probably came away wiser than the participants. This pioneering course at Enumclaw gave the wherewithal and the impetus to produce a proper text. This occupied the group for the next couple of months, and the first edition of the handbook appeared in the late summer of 1999. NEXT COURSE Will be held in Washington State, May 17-19, 2000 Packwood, WA, held in conjunction with the Washington State SAR conference.