Ted Fisher's SAR Notebook

By: Ted Fisher EMT I/D VCSAR Coordinator

Articles related directly or in-directly to 
Search and Rescue and Wilderness Survival
including tips, suggestions, and opinions.

SAR Survival Considerations:

Just how much survival training do I need if we only conduct searches in Midwest Illinois and Indiana? While this is true, we are not in terrain that is located 50 miles from any help or civilization. It is still a good idea to study some of the concepts and actually try some of the skills that are being taught. Knowing these skills boosts your self-confidence. I continue to recommend it in our VCSAR (Vermilion County Search and Rescue) training for the following reason.

The odds that you will be caught in a survival situation even in Midwest Illinois may be greater than you anticipate. An injury could occur at any time to you or your team members that would require these skills for survival. For instance consider the following scenario: You are part of a two person recon team, traveling on a 7 mile trail in a local state park, the air temperature is 24 degrees with the winds gusting to 20 mph. It has snowed 3 days prior so you still have about 3” of snow on the ground. Approximately 5 miles on the trail your partner slips on an icy hill, falls and breaks their leg. No problem, you have a radio, you can call in, when you call in the SAR base immediately dispatches for assistance with ambulance. Do you think that actual life saving help will be at your site within minutes? No it won’t! It only works like this in the movies. You will have to relay your location coordinates to the rescuers, they will have to decipher these coordinates, and organize the rescue team. They will then have travel time to your location and then evacuation time. In all reality this process could take a couple of hours or more. How long does it take to die from hypothermia? And that’s in normal conditions when you’re not injured in any way or wet. You could use the skills you have learned in your SAR Wilderness Survival training to actually survive.

Another scenario, you are an avid jogger who enjoys a 7-mile wilderness run even in the winter. Its 24 degrees, wind is not blowing. The trail is in the same state park as our previous scenario. It usually takes about 1 hour to complete the run. You have on your usual running attire, jogging shoes, light cotton pants and sweat shirt. About half way through you twist your ankle pretty bad, can’t even walk on it let alone run on it. Your cotton clothes are now wet from the perspiration you can’t walk, you have no phone to get help. You did let your wife know when to expect you back but help may be several hours away. Cold, wet, in cotton clothes, no way to call for help and only 1 mile from someone’s house that lives near the park. Wind is starting to pick up now with a winter storm quickly approaching. Thought you would beat the storm, what you didn’t do was anticipate any problems. Ironically in  different weather conditions this would not be a life threatening situation, but now its anyone’s guess.

 Point #1 You can die from survival situations thrust upon you and be very close to civilization. You don’t have to be isolated hundreds of miles from anyone.

Some of the situations that could promote a survival situation.

Being unprepared.
Bad weather.
Injuries or medical emergencies/accidents.
Mechanical failure. ( vehicle breakdown )
Just got lost, (it happens, even in the Midwest).

Some of your enemies in a survival situation.

Fear, Fatigue, Cold, Heat, Pain, Hunger, Thirst, Loneliness,

So just how much survival training do I need when I can walk a mile in any direction and find civilization?

You probably won’t need to know how to catch native Alaskan animals for food unless you’re in Alaska, just learn the basics for your area if you are not going out of your area. Many of the basics apply to any area or climate.

How To Survive, The Basic Elements:

Keep the basic elements of survival in mind and their priorities.

Attitude.
Keep a positive mental attitude.

STOP.
S (stop moving so you can think),
T (think about the situation, the weather, the terrain, time (logically how long will it take for assistance to arrive), what resources you have on and around you),
O (observe what’s around you and what may affect you now and in the near future, weather, resources.),
P (plan what actions you will need to accomplish to survive taking advantage of your resources.)

Air.                 
You can die in as little as three minutes without air.

First Aid.
Some experts believe this is a priority before shelter and even air, I guess someone could bleed to death in a few minutes. In any case one of the prime situations that could promote a survival situation is a Injury or Medical emergency. I am listing it as a priority here for that reason. If you are injured, your will to survive will be impaired.

Shelter.
You can die in as little as three hours from loss of body heat. Also, without protection from the heat of the day your survival may be very limited. You need protection from the elements. Shelter also includes the shelter you wear on your back; your clothes.

Water.
You can die in as little as three days without water. Don’t forget to purify the water, if you use water that you did not bring with you. Drinking unsafe water is just plain stupid.

Fire.
Helps to maintain water purity, provides heat, cooks food, provides psychological comfort.

Food.
You can die in as little as three weeks without food.

Signaling.
If the rescue team can’t find you, it just delays rescue.

Survival Tips:

“Be prepared”

Review the individual articles [coming soon] on each basic element and survival skill. Try some of these skills before you need them.

Be aware of the climate, for the area you are in. Obviously desert conditions may change your situation as opposed to artic conditions. Know that weather conditions can change rapidly.

Know where you are at all times. The next time you are out hiking, stop a couple of minutes and think how you would communicate back to your base or to someone to get help. Can you tell someone where you are and them be able to find you?

Be prepared when going on a SAR mission; carry your survival kit, and first aid kit with you. These little kits may even come in handy when you are taking care of the person your searching for as well.  The kits don’t have to be huge weighty kits that are restricting to carry. Review the articles I have provided for assembling these little kits. Personal First Aid Kits (PFAK’s), Equipment Lists for Personal First Aid/Survival Kits.

A very important key to your survival is how you can Improvise; use whatever is available to you. Be creative.

An old adage;

"Failure to plan is planning failure"

 

Ted Fisher EMT I/D
Last Revised: Tuesday January 30, 2001