UK SEARCH AND RESCUE ORGANISATION

Transcription

1 Chapter 2 UK SEARCH AND RESCUE ORGANISATION The United Kingdom (UK) provides a comprehensive search and rescue service for those reported in trouble either on land, on water or in the air and for those reported missing. The organisation for UK Search and Rescue (SAR) is an amalgamation of separate Government Departments, the emergency services and other organisations. A number of charities and voluntary organisations dedicated to SAR also play a significant role. The UK SAR Strategic Committee produced a Framework Document, giving full details of the UK Search and Rescue Organisation, in International Obligations The UK organisation for civil maritime and civil aviation SAR is derived from the Government s adherence to the Convention on the High Seas (1958), the Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)(1974), the Maritime SAR Convention (1979) and the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago 1944). As a signatory to these conventions the UK agreed to adhere to the standards, practices and procedures prescribed for civil aviation and to provide a maritime SAR organisation around its coasts. The UK responsibility for ships, aircraft and persons, whether civilian or military, covers the UK SAR Region (UKSRR), shown at FIG 1. Scope of UK SAR Responsibility for civil aeronautical and maritime SAR policy rests with the Department for Transport. The responsibility for the co-ordination of land-based and inland waters SAR rests with the civil Police and is derived from their duty to protect life and property. A number of agencies co-ordinate SAR within the UKSRR including the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Merchant shipping, the BBC and the civil Police. The key functions of the UK SAR Organisation are to co-ordinate: Maritime SAR in offshore, inshore and shoreline areas Aeronautical SAR over land and sea Inland SAR Military SAR Organisation Responsibility The Ministry of Defence (MOD) provides declared SAR facilities to cover military operations, exercises and training within the UK SRR. Although these resources are established for military purposes, it is MOD policy to render assistance whenever possible to other persons, aircraft or vessels in distress. Where the coverage provided by military SAR assets meets the civil SAR requirement, they will be made available for civil aeronautical, maritime and land-based SAR operations. 2-1

2 Overall responsibility for RAF SAR policy rests with MOD (DAO) and the requirements are defined in the MOD Strategic Plan and the RAF Management Plan. HQ 2 Group, through OC MRS is responsible for defining the operational, training and equipment policy for the MRS. This policy is promulgated in MRS Orders and is implemented by MRS Flight Commanders, the MRS Training & Standards Cell and Team Leaders. MOD declared SAR resources include RAF and RN SAR helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and, of course, RAF Mountain Rescue Teams. In the event of large-scale disasters, additional military resources can be made available as part of the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) Defence role. Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre All MOD SAR assets, including RAF MRTs, are co-ordinated by the ARCC at RAF Kinloss. The ARCC operates 24 hours a day and co-ordinates the use of all declared military SAR assets within the UK SRR. It also controls the military contribution to SAR operations requested by UK SAR authorities or neighbouring RCCs, including operations by military or civil aircraft, whether national or foreign. The ARCC has the cooperation of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Merchant shipping, the BBC and the civil Police. The UK Cospas-Sarsat Mission Control Centre (UKMCC) The Cospas-Sarsat system is an international organisation that uses satellite technology to detect active radio distress beacons anywhere on Earth and to ensure that the distress alert data is passed quickly to the appropriate RCC. The UKMCC is co-located with the ARCC at RAF Kinloss. Distress and Diversion (D&D) Cells Throughout their flights, most aircraft remain in twoway radio contact with the Air Traffic Control Centre (ATCC) appropriate to the area in which they are operating. The UK centres are the London ATCC (located at West Drayton) and the Scottish and Oceanic ATCC (located at Prestwick). Emergency transmissions from aircraft are actioned by an ATCC, which will alert its D&D cell, who will, in turn, alert the ARCC, which will then direct the SAR activity. Although a new ATCC (located at Swanwick) became operational in 2002, the existing D&D cells at West Drayton and Prestwick will continue to provide emergency services for the whole of the airspace for which the UK has responsibility. Fixed Wing Aircraft The RAF maintains one Nimrod MPA at 60 minutes readiness, 24 hours a day, at RAF Kinloss for SAR duties. The Nimrod boasts a variety of communications equipment and the combination of powerful radar; long endurance and excellent communications make the aircraft the platform of choice for directing activities at the scene of nautical emergencies. The aircraft itself can drop life rafts and survival equipment to persons in distress but is more frequently employed in vectoring shipping and helicopters to the scene. The Nimrod can also be used in the over land environment as a coordinating platform. 2-2

3 Helicopters (See also Chapter 8) The RAF Sea King helicopters at Boulmer, Chivenor, Leconfield, Lossiemouth, Valley and Wattisham have a maximum endurance of 6 hours and a radius of action of approximately 300 nautical miles from base. Refuelling from forward bases, oil platforms or suitably equipped RN ships can extend this. At each location, one helicopter is available at 15 minutes readiness between 0800 to 2200 hours and at 45 minutes readiness from 2200 to 0800 hours. The RN Sea Kings at Culdrose and Prestwick have an endurance of 5.5 hours and a radius of action of approximately 250 nautical miles from base. These helicopters are held at similar readiness to the RAF SAR helicopters and are available for military and civilian tasking through the ARCC. HM Coastguard operates four SAR helicopter units at Sumburgh and Stornoway (Sikorsky S92) and Portland and Lee-on-Solent (AW139). The aircraft are established for civil maritime and civil aviation SAR and medical evacuation from ships and offshore installations. They can also be made available for military rescue should the need arise and the Stornoway helicopter also has a secondary role in support of land rescue. Operational Responsibility Aircraft Incidents The MOD is responsible for taking action in all SAR incidents involving both military and civilian aircraft. The ARCC will decide which military SAR assets will deploy to a particular incident and may request the co-operation of many civilian agencies, including the Police. The ARCC co-ordinates the search operation until the aircrew, passengers and aircraft are located. In the case of the aircrew / passengers and aircraft being located on land, the civilian Police then become responsible for the co-ordination of the SAR operation and the ARCC co-ordinates the military assistance to the Police. Once the ARCC has committed a SAR Unit, such as a RAF MRT to this task, it will appoint an On Scene Commander (OSC). The ARCC is kept informed of action by that OSC. Non-Aircraft Incidents: The civil Police are responsible for all public safety. However, responsibility for co-ordinating mountain and other incidents varies from region to region. Once the help of an RAF SAR Unit has been requested and ARCC approval given, the Unit may work with, or even be requested to control the incident on behalf of the Police. a. Scotland. Mountain rescue in Scotland is promoted and co-ordinated by the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland, working together with the Police, who have a statutory duty in regard to mountain accidents. Area rescue arrangements are made by local collaboration of Police, civil and RAF MRTs. b. England and Wales. Mountain search and rescue services in England and Wales are provided under the auspices of the Mountain Rescue of England and Wales, in conjunction with the Police. In practice, search and rescue operations are organised by area panels on which local and RAF MRTs and the Police are represented. MRTs co-operate with the Police at all times. If the Police delegate control of an incident to a MRT they are kept informed of all rescue plans and progress. 2-3

4 The RAF MRS Role in SAR The RAF MRS provides a ground-based, all-weather SAR capability. It is capable of operating at short notice in difficult terrain or where severe weather conditions inhibit helicopter ops. The MRS has the following roles: Major Roles: Minor Roles: Military SAR in peacetime within the UK and in areas where UK forces are deployed when so tasked. Civilian SAR within the UK. PCM assistance within the UK more than 5 nautical miles from a Main Operating Base. MRTs may also be tasked to provide a crash guard for the first 36 hours or as specified by the ARCC. Tasks in support of NARO (these have precedence over SAROPS) PCM assistance for UK aircraft incidents outside the UK. Tasks in support of other Services, the Emergency Services and other Government Departments (Military Aid to the Civil Authorities). MRS Organisation The organisational structure of the RAF MRS is shown at FIG:2. Each of the 4 RAF MRTs, all based in mainland UK, has an area of responsibility as follows: Kinloss - Grampian, Highland. Leuchars - Tayside, Fife, Strathclyde, Central, Lothian, Borders, Dumfries & Galloway. Leeming - Northumberland, Durham, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and parts of Derbyshire and Cheshire. Valley - Parts of Derbyshire and Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Hereford & Worcester, Gwynedd, Clwyd, Powys, Dyfed, Gwent, Vale of Glamorgan, Devon and Cornwall. Team areas are located primarily to ensure that military SAR cover is provided at all times for the upland regions of the UK. Teams may operate beyond their boundaries during both training and operations with prior approval from the ARCC. The MRS Management Structure consists of OC MRS, Flt Cdr MRS (Ops) and Flt Cdr MRS (Logs), the MRS Chief Instructor and Assistant Chief Instructor who are all based within the MRS HQ at RAF Valley. 2-4

5 MRT Manning Teams based at Kinloss, Leuchars, Leeming and Valley have an establishment for 36 personnel. Each team includes 8 permanent staff: a Flight Sergeant who holds the Q-GS-MR-TL award and is the fulltime Team Leader and 7 others, one of whom is a Sergeant and nominated as the full-time Deputy Team Leader. Valley MRT is unique in that it has an establishment for 22 full-time staff. In additional to the officers there are 8 personnel employed within the MRS HQ Flt and 4 employed within the Training and standards Cell. In addition to the permanent staff, each MRT is established for up to 28 (16 at Valley) volunteer part-time personnel. These volunteers may be of any rank or trade and may include MOD civilians. They are drawn from the station strength and undertake MRT duties over and above their normal trade duties. All MRS personnel are required to attend a minimum of 2 out of every 4 available weekend training exercises plus weekly briefings. RAF MRT Operational and Readiness States RAF MRTs are tasked to maintain an operational capability at all times. The minimum number of personnel that constitutes an operational team is 10 and must include the following: a. One Team Leader of Deputy Team Leader. b. 8 team members, to include 2 Party Leaders and 2 SAR Immediate and Emergency Care Providers. c. A competent radio operator. d. A Command, Control and Communications vehicle. Ideally, there should be a full turn out of all team members and equipment on every callout. In reality this is rarely possible and whilst it is desirable that the Team Leader will lead the team, this is also not always possible. However, in his absence a competent deputy must be available. If a team cannot mount a fully operational effort due to lack of manpower or equipment, that team must report the details to the parent station, the ARCC, adjacent MRTs and MRS HQ. The same addressees must be informed when the team returns to its tasked operational state. Readiness States During normal readiness teams may carry out routine training in the field or normal primary duties at their parent Unit. However, the ARCC may order its SAR assets to increased states of readiness as follows: a. State 1 (SAR Cover). This is an airborne standby for aeroplanes and helicopters. MRTs may be moved to a forward base. b. State 2 (Immediate Readiness). The MRT is to be at 5 minutes readiness, with equipment loaded and the team assembled close to the vehicles. Communications (HF or telephone) should be established with the ARCC. c. State 3 (Advanced Readiness). The MRT is to be at 30 minutes readiness. Equipment should be loaded on to vehicles; MRT personnel should be alerted but need not be assembled. Communications (HF or telephone) with the ARCC should be tested. 2-5

6 d. State 4 (Normal Readiness). The MRT is to be at one-hour readiness. This is the normal standby except for weekends and grant periods. Team members may carry out normal duties or training however a member of the Permanent Staff is to be on call at all times. e. State 5 (Weekend and Grant Training). The MRT may take more than one-hour react, in order to conduct essential deployed team training. However, teams are to react as swiftly as possible. The ARCC is to approve training deployment locations to maintain an adequate spread of SAR cover. Civilian Mountain Rescue Organisation Details of the civilian mountain rescue organisation are given at Annex A to this chapter. 2-6

7 UNITED KINGDOM SEARCH AND RESCUE REGIONS AND MILITARY SAR FACILITIES 2-7

8 FIG 1: Headquarters No 3 Group, is responsible for co-ordinating all search and rescue operations involving military assets occurring in the UK Search and Rescue Region (SRR). It does this through the medium of the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre (ARCC) at Kinloss. RAF MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM TRAINING AREAS FIG 2: The basic training areas for the RAF MRTs are: a. Kinloss: Grampian, Highland. b. Leuchars: Tayside, Fife, Strathclyde, Central, Lothian, Borders, Dumfries and Galloway. c. Leeming: Northumberland, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Durham, Cumbria, 2-8

9 South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, parts of Derbyshire and Cheshire. d. Valley: Parts of Derbyshire and Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester, Gwynedd, Clwyd, Powys, Dyfed, Gwent, Glamorgan, Devon and Cornwall. The Origins ANNEX A TO UK SAR ORGANISATION THE CIVILIAN MOUNTAIN RESCUE ORGANISATION The origin of the civilian mountain rescue service in the UK pre-dates the Second World War and relates directly to the ethos of a self-help organisation, ie climbers and mountaineers helping other fellow climbers and mountaineers who are in distress. During the 50 s and 60 s as the recreational use of the upland areas in the UK increased, so too did the number of incidents involving walkers and climbers. This led to the development of a widespread network of search and rescue teams, manned by volunteers, throughout the country. As the teams developed the skills and training required to cope with the needs of their specific areas, so did the infrastructure of the organisation at both regional and national level. These developments created the opportunity for teams to be able to communicate in an effective way with the other emergency agencies, both statutory, such as the Police and Ambulance services and voluntary, such as cave rescue teams. Present Day Structure Voluntary teams are available at any time throughout the year. They are normally accessed through the Police, who have overall responsibility for land based search and rescue. Teams have detailed knowledge of their primary areas of operation but are able to work elsewhere as required. Team members are all volunteers, however their standards are high and the service provided is professional and as such is an invaluable addition to the Police role in their response to search and rescue and major disasters. Mountain Rescue for England and Wales (MRE&W) A total of 47 MRTs, each of whom is an independent unit, come together for liaison and co-operation purposes under the auspices of the MRE&W. The operational teams are grouped into 8 regional associations as follows: No. of Teams Lake District Search and Mountain RescueAssociation 11 Mid-Pennine Search and Rescue Organisation 05 North East Search and Rescue Association 06 North Wales Mountain Rescue Association 08 Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation 07 South Wales Search and Rescue Association 04 South West England Rescue Association 05 Yorkshire Dales Rescue Panel 01 The RAF MRTs based at Leeming and Valley are also members of the MRE&W. A full list of the teams within each regional association appears in the Mountain and Cave Rescue Handbook. 2-9

10 Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland (MRCof S) Mountain rescue in Scotland is structured in the following manner. There are 23 civilian teams affiliated with the MRC of S. There is no regional structure as exists in England and Wales. Civilian MRTs: Aberdeen MRT Dundonnel MRT Lochaber MRT Arran MRT Galloway MRT Lomond MRT Arrochar MRT Glencoe MRT Moffat MRT Assynt MRT Glenelg MRT Ochils MRT Borders SAR Glenmore Lodge Skye MRT Unit MRT Braemar MRA Killin MRT Tayside MRT Cairngorm MRT Kintail MRT Torridon MRT Oban MRT Tweed Valley MRT The Strathclyde, Tayside and Grampian Police Forces maintain MRTs, who along with the RAF MRT s based at Kinloss and Leuchars are also members of the MRC of S. Association of Lowland Search and Rescue (ALSAR) Five teams come together to form ALSAR, which was established with the primary purpose of developing, co-ordinating and promoting the activities of lowland search and rescue teams. It covers areas not served by the MRC or MRC of S. Northern Ireland Mountain, Cave and Cliff Rescue Co-ordinating Committee (NIMCCRCC) Three teams provide search and rescue cover in Northern Ireland and come together for coordination and other purposes in the NIMCCRCC. There is close co-operation between NIMCCRCC and the Irish Mountain Rescue Association (IMRA). The Police Service of Northern Ireland has a 20-strong Mountain Rescue Team that carries out search and rescue for mountain, cliff and cave incidents throughout Northern Ireland. Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) SARDA is a voluntary organisation dedicated to the training and use of air-scenting dogs in searches. The members are commonly drawn from mountain rescue teams. SARDA is affiliated to every region of the MRE&W and MRC of S. There is also a SARDA in the Republic of Ireland. 2-10

11 British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) Cave rescues in the British Isles are carried out by 15 cave rescue organisations, each with its own equipment, administration and geographical are of operation. The BCRC is the representative body for all bona fide teams in the British Isles. It is affiliated to the MRE&W. Auxiliary Coastguard Service The Auxiliary Coastguard Service is an organisation of Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRTs) situated at strategic locations around the coast, which are equipped to deal with incidents appropriate to the risks associated with local terrain and local shoreline activities and conditions. All CRTs have a search capability and in addition, many have a cliff and / or mud rescue capability. Civilian MRTs Civilian MRTs are operationally very similar to the RAF MRTs; the major difference being that they consist wholly of unpaid volunteers who have to raise the funds needed to operate them. As such civilian MRTs are registered charities. The tradition of unpaid service is one, which all teams are trying to uphold, despite increasing demands on their services. Membership and Training Team members are all volunteers and are required to demonstrate experienced hillcraft before admission. Teams are generally only prepared to teach SAR techniques to new members. Prospective members are usually required to complete an initial assessment followed by a probationary period. Members are typically aged between 18 and 70. Training programmes are developed on a similar basis to the RAF MRTs. Operations The teams are called out through the 999 system, which in most cases is through the Police. In most areas the Police leave the team to organise and execute the operation, providing back up as requested by the MRT. Teams adjacent to urban and lowland areas are becoming increasingly requested to assist in incidents, particularly searches, which are not associated with persons in distress in upland areas. 2-11

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13 FIG 3: Civilian Mountain Rescue Bodies UK 2-13