2012-05-12 Mock/Exercise plan

From PCSAR

Revision as of 23:14, 5 May 2012

Sponsor of Plan Brett

Person(s)/Team Responsible for Execution/Implementation of Plan: Brett

Background

Search and Rescue is available to assist the RCMP, Pincher Creek Emergency Services, or the Pincher Creek Community Emergency Management Agency in providing notifications (door-to-door knocking) to residents in the Pincher Creek area of an emergency. PCSAR provide such services during the 2003 Lost Creek fire, notifying residents of Burmis Estates, Lee Lake and Tapay Road that they were on a one-hour standby to evacuate. (In other words they needed to be able to leave within one hour of being contacted again.)

In any such incident, PCSAR will likely not be in the lead role. Instead it will work with many other agencies and may be assigned a portion of a larger area that needs notification.

Through this exercise, we will train ourselves to alert the public. At the same time, we will educate people on what they can do to prepare by reading the pamphlets we give them and directing them to the websites for further information or the library. We want to show that we can provide more than missing persons searches.

The exercise is part of local National Emergency Preparedness Week (May 6-12) activities.

http://www.GetPrepared.ca

In our area, activities will be Saturday May 12 from 09:30 to 14:00 (2 pm). At the Pincher Creek Ranchland Co-op Mall there will be displays both outside and inside. The Red Cross will have sample 72 hour kits and displays. The Alberta Emergency Management Agency plans to have give aways, a 72 hour kit, and a "hazard" doll house. Alberta Health Services plans a display on flood clean-up/pandemics/flu shots/immunization. The Peigan Fire Department plans to have a fire truck and a hazard placard spotting exercise. Pincher Creek Emergency Services plans to have a fire truck and a hazardous materials suit demo. The RCMP will have vehicle and member present. A concession with supplies donated by the Co-op will have proceeds go to the Red Cross.

At noon there will be a test of the fire hall sirens in Pincher Creek, Cowley and Lundbreck. A media release will let people know to expect this and will start the education of the public on what to do when they hear the tone (check local radio, http://emergencyalert.alberta.ca, or 1-855-627-5365).

Pincher Creek Search and Rescue (PCSAR) will have their mobile command post (possibly their new one) at the Co-op Mall. They will be running a training exercise where they will do a mock notification of residents close to the Co-op. From PCSAR's point of view, they will be practicing as if they had to be placing people on a one-hour stand-by for evacuation. From the public's point of view, they will be door knocking to deliver information on Emergency Preparedness Week, being prepared, and the new Siren Protocol.

Goals

Mission: Provide a valuable, professional resource to the people of the Pincher Creek area.

Value: Our value in participating in this exercise will be to further demonstrate we do more than “search and rescue” of lost or missing persons.

Purpose: To measure Pincher Creek SAR’s ability to respond in a professional manner to aid in the notification of residences of a natural or other hazard imminent up on them.

Goals:

• Raise the community awareness of the Search and Rescue organization.
• Recruit new members.
• Provide public safety education on general emergency preparedness and the prevention of Search and Rescue incidents.
• Demonstrate that PCSAR is ready to respond when needed in public-facing Civil Emergency Response roles.
• Measure the effective rate that PCSAR can do door-to-door notifications in an urban setting. This figure will allow prep-planning for future incidents, such as in a real notifications of evacuation.
• Help SAR members maintain their basic training through a mock scenario.
• Increase the experience of overhead team members in managing an incident.

Assessment

• Did we cover the notification area within the given time?
• Did we maintain radio communication all the time?
• Was there a time when we could not get to a team of our own people to remove from a hazard or personal emergency?
• Were we professional?

Scope of Plan

So here in a nut shell is the just. A command post will set up for more then one reason. One being to help out on our exercise and the other will be for show and tell. Believe me we have lots to tell about the old beast.

The Planning Sections Chief

Will have made a determination what particular area needs to be given notification of a possible evacuation. And also see that we meet the Exercise objective(s).

The Operations Section Chief

will be developing a plan to cover the area we have been assigned. This will be based on the mount of people that attend through the sign up sheet and actually show up. What will need to happen is for a Strike Team of three (one leader and two field personal) to go to an assigned area with the leader in a vehicle following the other members of the team down the road ways. What this does is to provide a good secure and accountable way to the field personal. Be aware that being highly visible is going to pay off for us here. The last thing we need is for us to look like we are blending into the area and appear as thieves or worse. When you start on the search area is going to be up to the Operations chief to appear to be efficient.

Logistics Section

Service Branch

Communications unit

You’re going to need to have three FRS radios for each team using a different channel for each team. Each team will also have a portable big radio to keep in touch with the command post, held by the team leader in the vehicle. This will cut down on the chatter of everyone trying to see if someone is talking to them r not and also make us more efficient.

Support Branch

Transportation Unit

A back up vehicle will need to be staffed for a possible evacuation of our own field personal. In this you will need to have a person who knows the area, map, big radio and a FRS radio with the list of what teams are using what. All communication will go through the Command Post. This is a way of covering our butts and also to replace personal that need to come out for various reasons (bio brake, pizza run)

Equipment

High visibility will be needed and identification too. This includes the general staff in the command post or operations section.

Field personal will need to have a SAR Coat hopefully and or a high Visibility vest and ID. No need for a kit on your back as your vehicle can house your 24 hour pack. Water m first aid kit and snacks would be good to carry on you. Clothing for the environment, radio, maps and clip board, etc, will be needed.

Overhead Team will need a command post fully stocked with local maps that are up to date.

Public Education

Printed brochures from the government, local government brochures, PCSAR information possible with our next recruitment date and SAR course, bags to hang on door knobs with pamphlets in.