Units from around the country came together for training in Water Safety and Bank Search techniques
In keeping with the ALSAR Water Safety strategy, ALSAR held its first National Water Safety Training weekend over May 8th-9th in Oxford. An excellent response was received from units with 24 member's attending across 14 units. The weekend was split in two with the first day being a Train the Trainers Day for Water Bank Search Teams.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs approves a grant of £27k to ALSAR for flood rescue services
In Spring 2006, Defra undertook a detailed capability assessment of flood emergency planning and preparedness in England and Wales, based on the outputs of the National Capability Survey 2006. The analysis clearly showed a shortfall in capability to rescue people when compared against the planning assumptions for a severe east coast flood.
As you all no doubt aware, WILSAR have over the past 4 days been involved in a high profile missing person search in the Marlborough area of Wiltshire.
This phase of the operation has now been concluded by Wiltshire Police.
West Midlands Search & Rescue provides comms support to UK-ISAR
Whilst the 63 members of the UK International Search and Rescue Team(UK-ISAR) from the combined Fire and Rescue authorities have been making preparations to leave for Japan, local Worcester based Volunteer Search and Rescue team WMSAR have been busy delivering some of our radios on loan to the Birmingham base of the UK-ISAR team.
Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR) has developed a new campaign that is targeted primarily at carers and family members of vulnerable people.
The Safe and Sound Campaign, which has been running for nearly a year, is intended to encourage carers and families to consider the risks associated with their loved one wandering off and thus to develop workable, cost-effective, proactive strategies to mitigate some of those risks. Besides raising awareness about wandering, KSAR has also developed a number of concrete actions carers can do to prepare for the possibility that the person they care for failing to return home, such as taking a photograph when you change the clocks and filling out a short Life History Questionnaire for use in an emergency.