Keeping you up to date on the latest news and events in the world of Saskatoon Search and Rescue

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Saskatoon Search & Rescue

February 2015

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What's Happening

At SSAR

January 15 and 17-18 were our first training events of the year. Thankfully the weather cooperated!

On Thursday evening we reviewed accidental hypothermia and frostbite and worked on tabletop exercises related to these cold injuries.

Saturday afternoon we spent time practicing shelter building, signaling and fires. Our overnight scenario required a short search for two hypothermic subjects who required treatment until evacuation in the morning. Teams had to monitor and care for subjects in the field throughout the night. Members in the command post also practiced completing documentation and switching leads. This is very important knowledge to have for searches of a longer duration.

Thanks to Floyd Besserer who led the hypothermia and frostbite review; Jarod Harvey, Mark Wells and Rod Miskolczi for organizing Saturday afternoon training; and to Jeff Baxter, Rebecca Basset and Shelley Ballard-McKinlay for planning the overnight scenario. Special thanks to our two volunteers subjects, Jason Swan and Spencer Pitzel, for using their medical knowledge to provide constructive feedback and for being willing to be under-dressed for the weather and put their trust in the SSAR team to care for them for the night!

On January 12th SSAR had a booth at the Saskatoon showing of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. Jarod Harvey and Nelson Martell provided information about our Chapter and about Preventative Search and Rescue. Thanks to the Saskatchewan Section, Alpine Club of Canada for their support of our attendance.

SSAR provided first aid services at the PotashCorp Skate Party on January 25th during the PotashCorp WinterShines 2015 festival at the Meewasin skating rink. The weather was fantastic so there were lots of people in attendance skating their best! Thanks to Henry Eng, Shawn Bursey, Mike Galbiati-Bourassa and Sherry Buller for assisting at the function.

Emergency Communications Project

Newest Sponsors

The Rotary Club of Saskatoon Nutana is the latest sponsor of our Emergency Communications Project. Rotary Clubs support so many worthwhile projects and we're very happy that you chose ours! Thank you so much for your support!

We are getting closer to our goal but we are still actively seeking organizations or individuals who may be interested in supporting this project. Please contact us at saskaoonsearchandrescue@gmail.com

Training and Events

Monthly Training Meetings

Training sessions are generally held the first Thursday and Saturday of the month. All Thursday evening sessions are held at the Fire Training Centre, 116 Ave W S, unless otherwise specified. Field days are generally held the following Saturday.

February 5 - 7 pm - What happens when a person is reported missing? Note taking expectations with tips and review of post-activation reporting procedures.
February 8 (** Sunday) - 9 am - 5pm at the Fire Training Centre. Multiple short scenarios will be run from this location with note taking emphasized.

March 5 - 7 pm - Tabletop scenarios. Everyone found this to be very valuable when done at the December training night so we'll do it again with new scenarios and new tasks.
March 7 - 9 am - 5 pm in the Community Room at the Saskatoon Police Service. Missing persons information day with speakers from both within and outside our organization to speak on topics such as Alzheimer's, autism, other special needs, lessons learned from previous search experiences, and more.

April 16 - 7 pm - Preparation for weekend search exercise, Search Manager planning and first night of Team Leader Course.
April 17-18 - Friday evening starts off with a call-out and progresses into an overnight search exercise with two operational periods.

May 9-10 - All members to attend Team Leader training days so that our new Leaders have a team to lead! See details below.

June 4 - 7 pm Preparation for Saturday's search exercise.
June 6 - Full scale search exercise for the day.

Team Leader Course

For Team Leader candidates and those who need to be re-certified.

April 16 - 7 pm at Fire Training Centre.
May 7 - 7 pm at Fire Training Centre.
May 8 - 7 pm, location (in city) TBD
May 9 -10 at Blackstrap Provincial Park. 8:30 am Saturday, overnight to mid-morning Sunday.

Events

On February 16 we will be providing first aid duties at the Cameco Family Day skating party from noon to 4 pm at the Meewasin Skating Rink by the Bessborough Hotel. This is a very fun event and it's always great to see so many families out having a good time, eating hotdogs, drinking hot chocolate and warming up around the fire.

SARSAV Meeting

The next meeting of the Search and Rescue Saskatchewan Association of Volunteers (SARSAV) is Saturday, March 14, at 9:30 am at the Saskatoon Travelodge. The meeting is open to all members in good standing of Saskatchewan SAR chapters.

Search Dog Basics

This seminar is being held in Regina, July 10 (Friday evening), July 11-12 (full days) and is open to everyone. Further details and registration form can be accessed from our website calendar.

SARscene Conference

The annual SARscene conference is being held Oct 24 - 26 in Charlottetown, PEI. As soon as the website is updated we'll let you know but, in the meantime, mark the dates on your calendars. This is always a great training event!

Executive and Directors Meeting

The next SSAR Executive and Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, February 26, at 7 pm. These are business-style meetings of our chapter and are held the last Thursday of each month. All members are welcome to attend. If you would like to speak to an issue concerning SSAR, please notify the President prior to the meeting so time can be allotted on the agenda. If you would like a copy of the minutes from any past meetings, please email us.

And More . . .

Check our website calendar for more events and training information.

Thank You

For Your Support

Thank you so much to these community-minded organizations who support the work of Saskatoon Search and Rescue and have helped to fund our Emergency Communications Project. We are getting closer to our goal!

What else would you like to see in the SSAR newsletter? Do you have something that should be included next month? Please email the Communications Director with your ideas, comments and feedback. Thanks!

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