HANDOUT FOR PROSPECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS INDIAN WELLS VALLEY SEARCH AND RESCUE

Transcription

1 HANDOUT FOR PROSPECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS INDIAN WELLS VALLEY SEARCH AND RESCUE 1 Rev 6 6/21/06

2 A. GENERA L INF O RMA T IO N The Indian Wells Valley Search and Rescue Team (IWVSAR) is a volunteer, non-profit organization under the auspices of the Kern County Sheriff s Department. Team members are special at will deputies of KCSD. IWVSAR is currently certified as a mine rescue team by MSHA, the National Mine Safety and Health Administration. Mine rescue is the Team s specialty; however, the Team also trains in surface, trench, urban, and rugged terrain search and rescue techniques. The Team provides all training during a mandatory one-year probationary period. Enclosure (1) is a short Team history. The Team is on call 24/ 7/ 365, and strives for a 20-minute response time to the compound for callouts. This requires that members provide home, work, cell, and/ or pager numbers, and have supervisory approval to leave work immediately for as long as required to complete the mission (never more than 3 days). Callouts are made during work hours o n ly for emergencies. B. A P P L Y I N G F O R M E M B E R S H I P People who are interested in becoming a member of the team may request a Team application. The application will have the time and date of the next Board of Directors meeting or you may call the numbers on the application for this information. The applicant will be asked to attend the next Board meeting for an interview. The Team a p p lic a t io n in c lu d e s a w o r k -release form that must be signed by a work supervisor (if a p p lic a b le ). Upon Board approval, the Captain or the Secretary will notify the Volunteer Services D iv is io n a n d provide you with a Kern County Sherif f s A p p lic a t io n P a c k a g e. When you finish the package please make a copy for the Team records before submitting it to the Sheriff s Department. You can mail it (registered is best), or you can take it over to the S h e r if f s O f f ic e in B a k e r s f ie ld. O n c e s u b m it t e d, a background check will be performed. If an applicant has been arrested, detained, charged, or convicted of any misdemeanors or f e lo n ie s, t h is in f o r m a t io n MUS T b e in c lu d e d in t h e KC S D a p p lic a t io n. If a n a p p lic a n t h a s been convicted of any felony, or of any misdemeanors with a three-y e a r p e r io d, t h e y w ill NOT pass the background check and need not apply. However, if the applicant does pass the background check, the next step is to get a physical exam. The VSD secretary will get an authorization for the physical and let the applicant, the Team Captain or Team Secretary know. It s up to the applicant to call the doctor s offic e in B a k e r s f ie ld t o schedule the physical. Since 2006, a drug test (urine) and a polygraph test are also required. The VSD secretary will have the information regarding these tests and when they will be required. Once all the KCSD requirements have been m e t, t h e a p p lic a n t w ill be sworn in as an at will employee of the KCSD. 2 Rev 6 6/21/06

3 C. EXP ECT A T IO N S Once a prospective is sworn in, a 12-month probationary term is started. Prospective m e m b e r s s h o u ld r e a liz e t h a t t h is f ir s t y e a r r e q u ir e s a s ig n if ic a n t t im e commitment. At the end of the probationary period, the Team votes on whether or not to accept the prospective as a full member. A prospective member may be asked to leave for nonparticipation (less than 60% of all Team events) unless a waiver or extensio n is requested due to conflicts with work, education, family, etc. D. PRACTICES The Team conducts training practices and business meetings on non-flex Thursdays, (according to the schedule for NAWCWD, China Lake). Alternate Thursdays are devoted to rebreather training. Each Thursday requires a 2-4 hour commitment. A ll p r o s p e c t iv e s a r e in v it e d t o p a r t ic ip a t e in T e a m m e e t in g s a n d p r a c t ic e s w h ile w a it in g f o r c le a r a n c e s and swear-in. A waiver will need to be signed if we go out of the facility for practice. N o p r o s p e c t iv e s w ill b e a llo w e d t o p a r t ic ip a t e in c a llo u t s u n t il t h e y a r e s w o r n in. D u r in g t h is p r o b a t io n a r y p e r io d t h e p r o s p e c t iv e w ill h a v e o p p o r t u n it ie s f o r t r a in in g in t h e f o llo w in g a r e a s : Mine environments and rescue techniques R e b r eathers (Dragers/ BioPacks/ Self-rescuers) Rope Handling (Knots and Haul systems) P a t ie n t P a c k a g in g Harnesses First Aid (card required) CPR (card required) T r a c k in g GPS/ Compass/ Map reading Trench Rescue Ur b a n ( c o lla p s e d b u ild in g ) R e s c u e E. C O M M I S S I O N S / I N S I G N I A Search and Rescue Deputy Commissions (ID Cards) issued to volunteer search and rescue members may not be used for any law enforcement activities, nor does it permit the carrying of a weapon. As of January 2006, volunteers are no longer issued or authorized to purchase KCSD metal badges. A cloth badge is available from the Team that can be worn on the work uniform. W e a r in g o f S h e r if f s in s ig n ia ( p a t c h e s, b a d g e s, c a p s, s h ir t s, e t c. ) w h ile n o t a c t iv e ly p a r t ic ip a t in g in a n a u t h o r iz e d T e a m a c t iv it y is p r o h ib it e d. 3 Rev 6 6/21/06

4 F. E Q U I P M E N T / U N I F O R M S A prospective is expected to furnish, within 30 days of swear-in, t h e f o llo w in g equipment: Safety Toed Shoes Hard Hat (with light mount) Gloves (for handling ropes) T r a c k in g S t ic k (can be an old ski pole) Other equipment, such as seat and chest harnesses, mine belts, personal carabiners, etc. should be obtained during the 12-month probationary period. The IWVSAR work uniform is a team-approved red T-shirt, buttoned shirt, or sweats h ir t with team-approved insignia, and military style cargo pants (BDUs) in black, tan, or green OR a red one-piece coverall with Sheriff patches on each shoulder and a name patch on the left breast. A regulation Sheriff s ball cap shall be worn at all times except when other types of head covering is required. Appropriate footwear shall be part of the work uniform. A search and rescue deputy badge (cloth or metal) may be worn on the left breast. The IWVSAR work uniform is required on all callouts, and should be worn for all public relation events such as parades, lectures, fairs, etc. (Team shirts, cloth badges, and caps may not be purchased until the probation period is 75% complete). 4 Rev 6 6/21/06

5 IWVSAR HISTORY In May of 1963 fourteen members of the Sidewinder Citizen Band Radio Club traveled to Bakersfield to be sworn in as special deputies for the Kern County Sheriff s Department to fulfill a need for a search and rescue unit in the eastern part of Kern County. In 1966 the Team started t r a in in g in m in e rescue. Equipment for this task was purchased or built to make the team fully capable as a mine rescue unit. The Indian Wells Valley Search and Rescue Group, Inc., is the only a ll-volunteer mine rescue team in the Southwestern United States to be MSHA (Mine Safety and H e a lt h A d m in is t r a t io n ) c e r t if ie d f o r m in e r e s c u e. Since 1963 the Team has participated in many search and rescue operations. These operations range from ground searches over rough terrain for missing aircraft and people, to contraband and body recoveries from wells and mines anywhere in California and the neighboring states. Since our mine rescue activities largely involve many abandoned mines in Kern County and neighboring areas, we are continuously training and practicing to improve our skills. We use oxygen-breathing apparatus, study search and rescue techniques for working mines, aqueducts, and tunnels, and make familiarization visits to active underground work sites. This means that we can successfully support mine rescue teams of working mines as a backup team in the event of a mine disaster. Due to the seriousness of earthquakes in California, the Team has also trained in Heavy Urban Rescue since 1991 so we can efficiently cope with an earthquake disaster in the In d ia n W e lls V a lley. The IWVSAR Team is, to the best of our knowledge, the only all-volunteer team in California to have been formally trained by Los Angeles County s Urban Search Rescue (USAR). The Team is comprised of a maximum of thirty full team members, five prospect iv e members and various support personnel. We currently have certified U.S. Mine Safety and Health A d m in is t r a t io n ( MS H A ) r e s c u e in s t r u c t o r s, Em e r g e n c y Me d ic a l T e c h n ic ia n s ( EMT s ), F ir s t A id instructors, Confined Space instructors, and Technical Rope Rescue instructors among our members. All members are trained in mine rescue, man tracking, rope rescue, downed aircraft location, first aid, urban rescue, cave rescue and related techniques. The Team conducts meetings bi-w e e k ly w it h a r o t a t io n o f b u s in e s s, underground, and surface practices. Additional training is held on various weekends at seminars and specialized schools, and groups within the Team conduct specialized training particularly in the areas of tracking, compass/ map/ GPS and rope techniques. Breathing apparatus training occurs on alternate weeks from regular practices. The Indian Wells Valley Search and Rescue was incorporated as a non-p r o f it o r g a n iz a t io n in Our support for equipment and operations comes from private and commercial dona t io n s. IWVSAR is a United Way agency, and all our members are volunteers who give generously of their time, talents, personal equipment, and cash to support the mission of the Team. The Team participates in public education and safety programs by giving demonstrations and talks to schools, Scout troops and other youth activity and adult programs. The Team actively participates in emergency drills both in Ridgecrest and China Lake. The Sheriff s Department, the NAWS Command Center, or the State Office of Emergency Services can officially call out the Team for an operation. The Team may also be directly contacted by a m in in g o p e r a t io n in n e e d o f a s s is t a n c e. T h e T e a m r e g u la r ly p a r t ic ip a t e s in C A L O S H A D iv is io n o f Mining and Tunneling mine rescue programs. 5 Rev 6 6/21/06