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* Second PLB Incident Results in Arrest
* Disaster Information Resources for Spanish Speakers
* Special Needs Training Materials Available
* US Federal Volunteer Liability Law
* State Liability Laws for Charitable Organizations and Volunteers
* Update on National Mutual Aid System
* SAR Mailing Lists
* International Rope Technology Workshop
* New CERT Newsletter
* Mass Fatalities Institute Online Newsletter
* DHS Grant Site
* Suspension of Colorado CAP Flights
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Online version at www.SARNEWS.com 1/02/04
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Second PLB Incident Results in Arrest
Carl Skalak, 55, the first person in the lower 48 United States to be
rescued with the assistance of a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), was arrested
by rangers from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and
charged with two counts of falsely reporting an incident. While attempting to
retrieve
gear left behind during his first rescue, he set off the PLB again. This
second incident has not been as widely reported as the initial rescue.
The link below is to an excellent analysis of the rescue done by
Backpacking Light magazine.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00205.html
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Disaster Information Resources for Spanish Speakers
For Hispanic residents and other Spanish speakers
disasters and emergencies pose an additional risk because they
may have difficulty obtaining vital emergency messages from
public officials as well as important response and recovery
information. At the federal, state and local levels, Spanish
translations of a growing list of publications are available to
reach this segment of the population. Publications include
FEMA's
"Are You Ready?" brochure and "Get Ready for Emergencies and
Disasters: Developing Your Disaster Plan", and the "Recovery Times"
disaster newsletter. The Red Cross has also published disaster
information in Spanish and FEMA has a cadre of translators
fluent in a variety of languages available for specific disaster
assignments.
In addition, the Department of Homeland Security has launched
the "Listo" campaign to help Spanish-speaking Americans and
residents to prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks. This
initiative incorporates the popular "Guardian Angel" icon,
symbolizing protection of individuals against danger.
Learn more from FEMA at:
http://www.fema.gov/spanish/index_spa.shtm
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Special Needs Training Materials Available
FEMA is offering a new training course to assist state and local
emergency managers and private organizations in better serving
the needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities.
"Emergency Planning and Special Needs Populations"
(G197),
available on CD ROM, is being distributed to all state training
officers and regional training managers. Social service
organizations or special needs advocacy groups can also obtain
the materials by calling (301) 447-1585.
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=8545
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US Federal Volunteer Liability Law
For those interested in liability issues for volunteers, excerpts
from the <<US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42, Chapter 139,
Section 14503. Limitation on liability for volunteers>> can be found at:
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/14503.html
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State Liability Laws for Charitable Organizations and Volunteers
This 118 page document published by the nonprofit Risk Management Center
provides a broad overview of laws and cases that affect non-profit and
government organizations. The specific laws for each state are listed
along with several cases that show concrete examples of how the cases turned
out. If you are cheering for the volunteers, you may be pleasantly
surprised. The document also points out areas teams can work on to
reduce liability. This one is a must read.
http://www.eriskcenter.org/assets/pdfs/StateLiabilityLaws2001.pdf
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Update on National Mutual Aid System
In the November 6, 2003 issue of SARNEWS we reported on the development
of standards for a National Mutual Aid System under the leadership of
FEMA. Several readers may have wondered if this system was going to
address search and rescue. While still under development and subject
to change, contractors are working on including SAR teams. The current
proposal is to list teams in the following categories.
Urban SAR (focusing on collapse and trench)
Water SAR (swift and deep water)
Ice Rescue
Avalanche Rescue
Wilderness SAR (everything below 45 deg.)
Mountain SAR (everything above 45 deg.)
Desert SAR
Cave Rescue
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=49467
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SAR Mailing Lists
Not getting enough mail in your inbox related to SAR? Sign up for these
groups and you will get even more SAR stuff.
SARCOMM - SAR Communications
EMSCOMM - EMS Communications
CAVECOMM - Cave Rescue Communications
EVOC - Emergency Vehicle Operation
sar-patches - Trading of SAR patches
sar-stuff-buy-sell-trade - Buy, sell and trade SAR related personal items
SAR-IN - SAR in Indiana
SAR-KY - SAR in Kentucky
SAR-OH - SAR in Ohio
SAR-TN - SAR in Tennessee
SAR-VA - SAR in Virginia
SAR-WV - SAR in West Virginia
SAR-IL - SAR in Illinois
SAR-MO - SAR in Missouri
SAR-TX - SAR in Texas
To subscribe to any of these lists, simply send a blank e-mail to
<listname>-subscribe@yahoogroups.com where <listname> is the name of the
list.
ColoradoSAR-subscribe@egroups.com for SAR in Colorado.
uk-sar-subscribe@yahoogroups.com for SAR in Britain
For those interested in MSAR (Mounted SAR) discussion:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/msar-riders
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International Rope Technology Workshop
This workshop focuses on presentations from rope users ranging from
marine applications to rescue, rigging, heavy lifting, industrial use,
fibers, treatments, etc. It will be held March 8-9, 2004 in Houston,
Tx. Proposals for presentations at the workshop are also being sought.
http://www.mtsociety.org/pro_committees/rt/5th_IRTW_Main.html
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New CERT Newsletter
Since January 2002, there has been a nearly 100% increase
in the number of states where Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
training is available. As funding continues to reach local
communities, the number of citizens trained in basic disaster response
skills, such as fire safety, urban search and rescue, and medical
operations will continue to grow.
The "Connection" newsletter, comprised of articles written by the
people from around the country who are involved in community
preparedness on a daily basis, is seeking contributions. Suggested
stories include emergency responses that CERT teams were involved in,
schools and preparedness trainings, innovative CERT ideas, and how CERTs
are maintaining skills and motivating others.
www.naem.com/connection.html
www.naem.com/connection/guidelines.html
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Mass Fatalities Institute Online Newsletter
The National Mass Fatalities Institute (NMFI), an organization
established to help communities, businesses, industries, government
and disaster response agencies effectively plan for, respond to, and
recover from a mass fatalities incident, has announced an online
newsletter.
The newsletter will be sent out periodically to provide updated news,
information, and event listings to help communities and organizations
be prepared for mass fatality incidents. To sign up for this free
newsletter, send an e-mail to nmfi@kirkwood.edu. General information
about NMFI, along with the newsletter, is available at:
http://www.nmfi.org/index.htm.
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DHS Grant Site
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces a new web page for
information on grant opportunities from DHS and throughout the federal
government, including public health preparedness grants under Health
and Human Services, counter-terrorism grants under the Department of
Justice, and water-security grants from the Environmental Protection
Agency.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0355.xml
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Suspension of All Colorado CAP Flight Activities
The National Commander of the CAP prohibited the Colorado Wing from
flying all missions thru February 2004. The article points out some of
the reasons why. The CAP is to be applauded for making a difficult
and bold statement. Every organization should consider what standards
and performance measures it would use to state it cannot perform a
mission and potentially put people in harms way.
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/03/news031214_7.htm
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