What's Happening 

At SSAR

There was a great turnout at the Prospective Members' Meeting on April 14. So many interested people with lots of valuable skills and experience. Thanks to Jarod Harvey for leading this session and to Sean Taylor and Shelley Ballard-McKinlay who also attended to help welcome everyone. 

Near-Water Search Strike Team training was held April 10 and 12 with both pool and outdoor sessions. It was an interesting and confidence-building experience to jump into the water with clothing and heavy pack and know that you were going to be okay. Thanks to the Shaw Centre and Saskatoon EMO for supporting our training; Rebecca Basset and Nelson Martell for organizing and instructing the pool session; and Jeff Baxter and Rebecca for organizing and instructing the outdoor session. (Photo album on our Facebook page.)

Are you interested in taking a Critical Incident Stress Management Course? See details below. 

May is going to be a busy month! Joint training with Saskatoon Police Service, Bike SAR Course, Search Manager Course and much more!

Shield Award Winner

Scott Wright

Training and Events

Monthly Training Meetings

• May 1 - 7 pm - Final training/preparation for joint training with Saskatoon Police Service.
• Sunday, May 4 - Time/Place TBD. Joint training exercise.
• June 5 - 7 pm - Topic TBD
• June 7 - Time/Place/Topic TBD

Bike SAR Course

On Saturday, May 10, 8:30 am - 5 pm, we will be hosting a Bike SAR course. Start and finish will be at the Fire Training Centre.

Mountain bikes are a valuable addition to ground search and rescue as they can cover more terrain faster than someone on foot, while avoiding the disadvantages of motorized vehicle. On this course SSAR members will learn the role of bikes in SAR, how to search while riding a bike, technical riding skills, bike maintenance and much more. 
 

Search Manager Course

 

A Search Manager course will be held in Saskatoon with multiple date options to allow flexibility for the attendees.

• Search Manager re-certifications May 26-28 or May 30-June 1
• New Search Manager certifications May 24-28 or May 24-25 and May 30-June 1
• SMIRIC (Search Manager Initial Response Incident Commander) certifications and re-certifications May 24-25

The course will be instructed by Scott Wright and based on the Emergency Response Institute (ERI) curriculum (updated since ERI was purchased by Tundra Group).
 
Prerequisites for new SSAR Search Managers are current Team Leader, member in good standing, committed to training, desire to work as a Search Manager and the support of the Chapter President. If you are interested please email SSAR President, Jeff Baxter by April 30.

For recertification, send previous training information to Scott. The registration deadline is April 30, to be emailed directly to Scott.

 

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Course

Saskatoon EMO is hosting a CISM course September 15-17. Topics will include group crisis intervention, individual crisis intervention and peer support. The instructor is Bruce Ramsay.   

Members who are interested in taking this course should reply to Rebecca Basset by May 28th. The cost of this course is $260 however EMO has generously offered a discounted rate for SSAR members and SSAR will pay 50% of the remainder. Therefore, the cost to members attending will be $100. 
 

Executive and Directors Meeting

And More . . . 

• ICS 100/200 course, May 27-28, hosted by Saskatoon EMO. There is no cost for this course and SSAR members should contact EMO directly to register.
   
• National Search and Rescue Conference, June 2 - 7, hosted by NASAR (National Association for Search and Rescue).
   
• Search Dog Basics, June 20 - 22, hosted by Precision Search Dog.
   
• JIBC Emergency Management Certificate, face-to-face classes hosted by Swift Current Fire Department, October 6-10 and November 24-28.

Gear, Gadgets, Gizmos

And Other Cool Stuff