GEMA/HS’s Search and Rescue T
By Uyen Le Schneider
T
hey are the team that
respond to any high
angle, confined, structural
collapse and wide area search
rescues in the state. On a day-to-
day basis, they are firefighters,
but when the call goes out for
assistance, Georgia Search and
Rescue Task Force teams are
deployed and ready to respond to
any type of rescue incident.
To ensure these teams keep up
with the most current training and
to refine their skills, the Georgia
Emergency Management and
Homeland Security Agency hosts
a statewide GSAR each year.
“There are local departments
who request a GSAR team, and
we’ll send a team to perform the
rescue because not every fire
department in the state is trained
to the level of these guys,” said
Ronnie Register, GEMA/HS GSAR
Program Manager. “We spend a
lot of money to get them this level
of training and we want to ensure
they can perform the rescues."
This year’s exercise took place in
April at the Georgia Public Safety
Training Center and brought
10
together GSAR Task Force Teams
1, 3 and 6.
The exercise spanned three
days, with teams completing
nine different obstacles within the
allotted three hour time for each
obstacle. The scenarios include
a highline across the lake where
teams move a K-9 and handler
across by rope to complete a
search mission. There is also a
water tower rescue scenario, as
County, Athens-Clarke, Barrow
County, Habersham County and
multiple smaller fire departments.
Register said it’s not just for the fun
of the competition, but the benefit
of keeping up with new training
and developing new skills.
“I will say without these
exercises, we wouldn’t know
exactly what we can do or how
well we can perform,” said Lt.
Ned Dickson, Warner Robins Fire
Training Division
"Without these exercises, Department
and GSAR Task Force 4 member.
we wouldn’t know
“It’s a necessity without a doubt
-- simply for our performance
exactly what we can
base, but also for the experience.
do or how well we can We don’t get to do a lot of this
type of training simply because of
perform..."
resources.”
well as a trench scenario where
For example, one of the
a victim is buried in a trench and
obstacles is a structural collapse
teams must recover the victim.
rescue. Dickson’s department
A structural collapse simulator
encounters those types situation in
and a wilderness search are
their everyday jobs - anytime they
other scenarios. The first team
are called out to a structure fire,
to successfully complete all nine
there’s the potential for a structural
obstacles with the best times
collapse.
“wins” the exercise. This year’s
Not only are they taking the
winner was GSAR Task Force Team
skills and knowledge they obtain
1, consisting of Gainesville, Hall
back to their departments, but
also learning to work
together on a larger
scale.
“This training benefits
the community because
it’s a regional team,”
said Jason Patterson,
task force leader for
VIDEO GOES HERE
GSAR Team 1.
As Task Force 1
was taking part in
the trench rescue
challenge, Patterson
recalled a situation his
team responded to a
few years ago, where
they had to retrieve a