Search & Rescue Training
Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team, in conjunction with Sligo Civil Defence, and members of the Mayo MRT, and North West MRT, recently completed an intensive two-day course in Field Search Skills, at the Civil Defence HQ in Sligo. The course was given by Dave Perkins and Peter Roberts, of the Centre for Search Research, Northumberland, England. This internationally recognised course is currently being taught to all the Mountain Rescue Teams in Ireland, and it is hoped that it will be extended to other bodies involved in Search and Rescue throughout the island.
Search management is the single most important activity that a Search & Rescue Teams are called upon to carry out. The course covered many areas of Search Management & Technique, such as;
Search management is the single most important activity that a Search & Rescue Teams are called upon to carry out. The course covered many areas of Search Management & Technique, such as;
- Developing procedures for incident management based on the Six Step Process.
- Creating a practical search skills course;
- Critical assessment of some of the components of incident management - for example the way in which a search plan is produced - and the creation of improved methods.
- Designing the data collection system for the UK/Ireland Missing Persons Behaviour project and the regular analysis of the data.
This particular course has been approved by many of the Police bodies in the UK, Ireland, the US and Canada, and the techniques can be used in any terrain. The methodology is clear, and concise, and information gathered during an initial search period can be handed over to a new search group, without unnecessary duplication of searching, and this makes more effective use of available manpower. The course also concentrates on the skills needed for the individual to become a better and more objective searcher on the ground, and the type of tactics to deploy in different types of terrain.
The weekend offered an excellent opportunity for inter-agency co-operation, and good operational contacts were formed between the local Civil Defence unit and the Mountain Rescue Teams. Working to mutually understood plans makes the job a lot quicker and more effective in a real-life search situation. All of the bodies involved are voluntary, and are permanently on call to the emergency services.
Civil Defence is currently recruiting new members; anyone interested in joining can contact Marion Davis at 071-91-42702 or by e-mail to mdavis@sligococo.ie. Those interested in becoming involved with Mountain Rescue can leave their deatails to ‘Call of Wild’, Hyde Bridge, Sligo.
The weekend offered an excellent opportunity for inter-agency co-operation, and good operational contacts were formed between the local Civil Defence unit and the Mountain Rescue Teams. Working to mutually understood plans makes the job a lot quicker and more effective in a real-life search situation. All of the bodies involved are voluntary, and are permanently on call to the emergency services.
Civil Defence is currently recruiting new members; anyone interested in joining can contact Marion Davis at 071-91-42702 or by e-mail to mdavis@sligococo.ie. Those interested in becoming involved with Mountain Rescue can leave their deatails to ‘Call of Wild’, Hyde Bridge, Sligo.
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County Hall, Riverside,
Sligo,
Co. Sligo.
GPS : Irish Grid 169896, 335864
Tel:071 9111111
Fax:071 9141119 Email:info@sligococo.ie
