New Member Information

From PCSAR

Welcome New Members!

This page provides our New Member Package.

A hard copy is available and can be found in the membership binder which is at the regular meetings.

Contents 1 Recruitment brochure 2 Overview 3 Basic information 4 Page 4 4.1 FITNESS AND WELL BEING POLICY 4.2 MEDIA POLICY 5 Page 5 5.1 Public Relations Policy 6 Additional pages

Recruitment brochure

You can print out our pdf Recruitment Brochure from this link.

Overview

Basic information

Page 4

FITNESS AND WELL BEING POLICY

In a search who is most important?

• 1 - You
• 2 - Your Team
• 3 - Potential Survivor

Things you must consider before becoming involved in a search:

1. Today, am I physically capable of going into the field and searching? You do not want to jeopardize your own safety or your teams' safety. If there is any doubt, do not go into the field.
2. Today, am I mentally capable to be a searcher? If your mind is clogged with something else (trouble at work, home, run down by sickness, or lack of sleep), do you think you could effectively search? Do you thing you could effectively work the IC?

"Your team is only as strong as its weakest member"

MEDIA POLICY

Things to remember:

1. Be aware of your environment. You do not always know who is around you (media, family, and friends of potential survivor).
2. Voices carry farther thank you think, and when using a radio remember that everyone is listening.
3. No one speaks to the media, unless instructed by the SAR Manager or a RCMP Officer.
4. There will be a media liaison setup by the SAR Management group.
5. You may be asked by SAR Management to help the media, and there will be instructions on what to do.
6. Be careful whom you talk to, an innocent question by someone could turn into a harmful quote in the local paper, television, or on the radio.

We are professional volunteers, so we must act professional. Saying or doing something stupid or silly in the relative security (term used loosely) of base camp can go very wrong!

Page 5

Public Relations Policy

Pincher Creek SAR adopted August 2001

Our Search and Rescue group deals with situations where people's lives can hang in the balance.

The group must strive for the very best relationship with the public and the organizations with which it deals. We cannot afford to have individuals or organizations hesitate to call upon us or to work with us in resolving an emergency.

For this reason, we do not take sides on any controversy in the community. Our SAR group holds no opinion on matters outside of Search and Rescue and the Civil Emergency Response. We welcome members regardless of their apparent alignment to any faction or clique; we judge them solely on their contributions to the Search and Rescue effort.

Our group is judged not only by its formal organizational face, but by the actions of its members. Whenever we wear the Search and Rescue name, whether on a coat or hat or on our vehicle, whenever we say we are Search and Rescue volunteers, we are associating ourselves with Search and Rescue and our actions will reflect on the SAR group. At these times we should

• be prepared to help out in any emergency within the limits of our training and ability,
• be respectful of others, and,
• if offering an opinion, clearly distinguish when we are reflecting the policies of the SAR group and when we are expressing our own views.

When we work or train for emergencies, we inevitably build relationships with people in positions of authority. As SAR volunteers we respect the privilege of having these relationships and only request special treatment when needed to deal with emergencies, training and education.

As volunteers, we put a lot of time, effort, and soul into Search and Rescue. It is often tempting to seek out the appreciation of the community by making it clear how much we individually have contributed -- by saying in effect "look at me, look at what I have done." However, it is largely impossible to put ourselves forward without some people seeing it as self-promoting. So this we are asked to give up for the benefit of the SAR group.

At times we will feel under appreciated. The thanks we receive, although welcome will be infrequent and from some sources altogether missing. This too we are asked to suffer quietly.

We give up the desire for special recognition and treat our role in Search and Rescue with reverence. We willingly do so in order to have the very best relationship with the public and other organizations with which we work and on which we rely in an emergency.

These things we do, that others may live.

Additional pages

In addition to these pages, a Personnel Record sheet, Resource Checklist, and Expense Form are in the hardcopy package.