Pincher Creek Search & Rescue	PCSAR Doc-67

Emergency Call Out Procedure

First Call may come from RCMP, Fire Department, another SAR group, a SAR member, or the public:

Who is calling?

What is their phone number?

Please stay by the phone until one of the group's managers can call you back very shortly.

Contact any Search Manager off the call-out list. Try the on-call Search Manager first. Give the manager:

Your name and your phone number.

The reporting person's name and phone number.

Confirm that you will stay by the phone until the search manager calls you back.

Call the other Callers.

Give them a heads-up.

Determine who will be the Call-Back Person. The Call-Back Person must expect to stay by the phone for the first 3 hours of the operation. The Call-Back Person is in charge of all the callers on the call-out team

Set up the Call-Back Number (627-5804) to forward to the Call-Back Person.

Dial 310-8682 (not a long distance call)

If it asks you for a password, press ‘*’ instead. Otherwise go to the next step.

Enter the area code and telephone number followed by the pound: 403 627 5804 #

Enter the password followed by the pound: ___________________ #

Main Menu - Advanced Call Forwarding - press: 1

To Call Forward - press: 1

Enter the phone number of the Call-Back Person followed by pound. For example: 628 2263 #

To forward all calls press: 1

hang up

Call the Search Manager and give them the Call-Back Number (627-5804).

The Search Manager will contact the reporting party, do a search urgency evaluation, contact the Tasking Agency (RCMP) and recommend whether or not Pincher SAR be tasked, request an Incident Commander, and then call the Call-Back Person.

Call Out

A Pincher SAR Search Manager calls the Call-Back Person and answers the following questions (form provided).

What type of people to call? (e.g. SAR Fundamentals, Snowmobilers)

How many people to get?

Where to meet?

Clear directions to the meeting place from each way of arriving.

When to meet there?

What type of equipment to bring?

Type of terrain?

Expected weather?

How long to plan to be in field?

Where is the Search Manager going to be?

What phone number will the Search Manager be at?

The Call-Back Person calls the other Callers and gives them the same information above. Split up the call-out list.

Each Caller calls people on their portion of the call-out list.

If you have to leave a message, give tell them:

Your name.

That you are calling from “Pincher Creek Search and Rescue” and “we are on an official search”.

The current time.

Briefly where the search is occurring.

Type of subject(s). E.g. Elderly woman, 4 year old, 3 snowmobilers.

What we need.

Are you available?

The Call-Back Number (627-5804).

When you are speaking with an available searcher, tell them the above plus:

Where to meet.

Clear directions to the meeting place from each way of arriving.

When to meet there.

What type of equipment to bring.

Type of terrain.

Expected weather.

How long to plan to be in field.

When will they be able to be at the meeting place?

What cell phone number will they have with them as they head to the meeting place?

Keep track of your mileage.

Each Caller contacts the Call-Back Person who summarizes their information.

The Call-Back Person calls the Search Manager and gives a summary of how many people will be arriving when.

The Call-Back Person determines from the Search Manager which of the neighbouring SAR groups should be given a “heads-up”. The Call-Back Person calls the neighbouring SAR groups and gives them the heads-up. They may be needed on this search. They might have to fill-in if there's a second search in our area.

The Call-Back Person lets other people know we are active:

The EMS Chief (Tom Harnos)

Pincher RCMP (complaints line: 627-4424 - day or night)

Lethbridge RCMP SAR Coordinator (Grant Hignell, pager: 320-3546 - day or night).

The Call-Back Person stays by the phone for at least the first 3 hours of the operation, or until another Call-Back Person is in place.

Hand Off

When switching from the current Call-Back Person to a new one:

The current Call-Back Person briefs the new Call-Back Person. Pass on all pertinent information including:

the information from step 7

those who are at the search

those who are on their way to the search

those who will be available later and when

those who are not available

those for whom messages have been left

The new Call-Back Person re-forwards the Call-Back Number, using the same procedure as step 4.

The new Call-Back Person lets the Command Post know who the new Call-Back Person is and the new Call-Back Number if it has changed.

Stand Down

When the team is stood down:

The Search Manager calls Call-Back Person to say that the team is standing down.

The Call-Back Person contacts all members that might be responding and lets them know the search is stood down.

those who are on their way to the search

those who would be available later

those for whom messages have been left

The Call-Back Person lets the people in step 13 know that the team is standing down and becoming available for another incident.

The Call-Back Person forwards the Call-Back Number to the Search Manager on Call.

If SAR is being asked to respond to a local disaster, Disaster Services will likely set up the Emergency Operations Centre at the fire hall and will be using 627-5804 as one of its phone lines. In such a case this line should not be set up as the Call Back Number; use the home number of the Call Back person instead.

You would only be asked for a password if the line from which you are calling also has ‘Advanced Call Forwarding’. The system then would be asking you for the password of the line from which you are calling. Pressing ‘*’ tells the system you're wanting to forward a different line.

The password is not preprinted on this page because this page is available on the web site. The password could be used illegally to charge long distance calls to Pincher Creek Emergency Services. Get the password from the chair of the Call-Out Committee and write it in.

PCSAR Doc-67	Emergency Call Out Procedure, 2006-05-31	Page 1 of 3

Emergency Call Out Procedure

Brett Wuth

2005-02-07T17:35:57