New grist for the SAR debate from Brown University study

[Breeze]

Couple of weeks ago, a skier in the East Snowfields on Mt Washington sustained serious and possibly life threatening injuries. Mt W State Park staff responded, USFS snow rangers, volunteers and bystanders helped extract the victim and he was transported down to a Gorham EMS ambulance at the base of the Auto Road. DHART was called from the accident location, but the helo transport didn't occur until the injured was seen and evaluated at AVH, and the Helo brought him to Maine Med in Portland. The extent of injury was, pretty miraculously, " Just" a triple pelvic fx without acute spinal involvement.

I won't swear on my life either side of hell or a bible that NH F&G wasn't informed of the incident, but I can say clearly that NH F& G did not personally attend or respond or send staff/resources to supervise or direct any part of the extraction, recovery, or transport.

In this case, the USFS Snow Rangers from HoJo's responded in support of the need.

So, yeah, sometimes stuff gets taken care of without NH F & G.

Breeze

 

[sardog1]

There is an explicit agreement between the state of NH and the feds that USFS takes the lead on wintertime SAR missions on the east side of the Presis. The snow rangers perform the same roles in such cases as the Fish and Game officers would in other instances, including the responsibility for overall management of the incident.

 

[MadRiver]

Are SAR teams allowed to operated without F&G getting involved?

Does that apply to a self-rescue? If for instance a person is injured and his/her friends are able to carry or walk the injured person out, and they just so happen to run into a ranger along the way, must they then relinquish control to the ranger and wait for a rescue crew to arrive? Or can you simply say “thanks, but no thanks” to the assistance?

 

[sardog1]

Does that apply to a self-rescue? If for instance a person is injured and his/her friends are able to carry or walk the injured person out, and they just so happen to run into a ranger along the way, must they then relinquish control to the ranger and wait for a rescue crew to arrive? Or can you simply say “thanks, but no thanks” to the assistance?

You can always decline an offer of assistance. The official response is usually triggered by a family or acquaintance reporting an injury or overdue return. I can't imagine an "involuntary" rescue unless the person involved was mentally impaired at the time or there was a likehood that an official response would be necessary later and the delay would imperil the injured person or those who would have to respond. The latter might come into play in severe weather conditions.

 

[Maddy]

You can always decline an offer of assistance. The official response is usually triggered by a family or acquaintance reporting an injury or overdue return. I can't imagine an "involuntary" rescue unless the person involved was mentally impaired at the time or there was a likehood that an official response would be necessary later and the delay would imperil the injured person or those who would have to respond. The latter might come into play in severe weather conditions.

Sardog...in states where people have to pay for their rescues, is there any documentation of how many people have died or been seriously compromised because they did not call in a timely way? What are the percentages? Do we have any idea? I wondered if you have access to this kind of data.

 

[RoySwkr]

From what I hear by from friend who was on the Pemi SAR unit, they biggest issues were people falling and becoming incapacitated (possibly footwear issues, possibly experience, possibly a slip-up),

Some injuries of this sort are probably inevitable (not that reducing the number wouldn't help), a rapid communication device such as a cell phone will avoid the need for a wide area search and make it more likely the rescue can be accomplished in daylight - yet may lead to excess calls when in days of yore the victim would have just walked out

And billing health insurers for litter carries like they pay for ambulances would shift but not eliminate costs

and the other issue is people getting stuck in the dark.

A combination of education on turnaround times and carrying flashlights would help here, of course many trails are getting harder to follow by flashlight

 

[sardog1]

Sardog...in states where people have to pay for their rescues, is there any documentation of how many people have died or been seriously compromised because they did not call in a timely way? What are the percentages? Do we have any idea? I wondered if you have access to this kind of data.

I don't have numbers and I'm not sure anyone collects them systematically. The best I can do is point to these examples from Colorado and elsewhere:

Examples of endangered persons refusing SAR help

Unfounded fear of costs complicates rescue

 

[Maddy]

I don't have numbers and I'm not sure anyone collects them systematically. The best I can do is point to these examples from Colorado and elsewhere:

Examples of endangered persons refusing SAR help

Unfounded fear of costs complicates rescue

Thank you so much for posting this. I have read some of the incidents and will finish them up later. Interesting 2nd link that describes all SAR's being done by volunteers. That seems like such a great option. They are obviously very dedicated and love what they do.

 

[sardog1]

Interesting 2nd link that describes all SAR's being done by volunteers. That seems like such a great option. They are obviously very dedicated and love what they do.

Well, actually it says "the overwhelming majority of mountain rescue teams in the United States are comprised entirely of volunteers" (emphasis added), which is something different. It's true enough that volunteers provide the vast majority of labor on SAR missions of all kinds off the ocean, but the official agencies are almost always on scene. That official presence ranges from highly skilled SAR specialists who are constantly training and working on missions to the Minnesota deputy sheriff who once turned to me when I drove up and said, "OK, how do you want to do this?"

The success of SAR in the U.S. depends utterly on close cooperation between the volunteers and the agencies. I'm going to take this opportunity to quote something here from this past month that is quite near to my heart, having worked with this woman for four years:

"The late Nancy Lyon of New London was honored by the New Hampshire Outdoor Council with a New Hampshire Search and Rescue Extraordinary Service Award, honoring individuals who have given extraordinary service to backcountry search and rescue in New Hampshire. Her name will appear on a permanent plaque that will be displayed at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord. Her husband Doug Lyon and several members of the New England K9 Search and Rescue Team were present to acknowledge this special recognition.

"Nancy Lyon was a long-time volunteer for New England K9 Search and Rescue and a prominent figure in backcountry search and rescue in New Hampshire. 'Nancy was the NEK9 Team Leader for 18 years. She has been an integral part of 400-500 searches over that time span, serving in both New Hampshire, Vermont and beyond as needed,' wrote Lt. Todd Bogardus (Ret), former Fish and Game Search and Rescue Team Leader, in a letter supporting her nomination. 'Nancy’s dedication and commitment to the K9 and the general search and rescue community is immeasurable. As an example of a true ‘Unpaid SAR Professional’ she exemplified the words dedication, commitment, teamwork and leadership.

"'Her life seemed to revolve around SAR. She was always ready at the instant the telephone rang or would simply leave a regularly scheduled training exercise to work on a real mission. She many times conducted multiple search missions in a single day. Nancy continually researched and trained for better SAR standards, practices and overall search success, adapting electronic GPS and mapping technologies or learning lost person behavior to make her team more successful,' wrote Bogardus."

"Nancy’s gift of quietly providing her opinion and meaningful suggestions were always appreciated and respected,' continued Bogardus. 'She many times would readily take the toughest search grid for herself and as a search manager you could trust in her and her team’s abilities and dedication to the mission at hand. It was through her leadership with NEK9 and her service upon the White Mountain Search and Rescue Working Group that Nancy gained everyone’s respect, admiration and genuine friendship."

Conservation Officers of the Year and Volunteers Honored at Fish and Game