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SAR NEWS

CCGA-NL is celebrating its 30th anniversary

This picture was taken in 1979. From left to right: Harry Strong, 1st Vice-President, Bob Lucas, Secretary, Capt. Peter Troake, President, Ken Lane, 2nd Vice-President. Photo Credit: Debbie Noseworthy

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Newfoundland and Labrador) Incorporated [CCGA (NL) Inc.], a non-profit, volunteer organization used to augment maritime search and rescue (SAR) resources in Newfoundland and Labrador, is celebrating 30 years of operation this year.

The CCGA in Newfoundland and Labrador has a proud history. It was first incorporated on August 30, 1978, and in its initial year of operation, 164 members and 65 vessels volunteered their services and responded to 20 maritime SAR incidents. Since incorporation, the CCGA has grown and prospered to where it stands today: a significant resource for SAR response and prevention with 884 members and 428 vessels volunteering their services in over 17,895 volunteer hours. Approximately 95 percent of the members are involved in the commercial fishing industry and in 2007, they responded to 146 maritime SAR incidents.

The CCGA vessel “Tara Chantelle” exercising with 103 Squadron, Gander. Photo Credit: Debbie Noseworthy

Since its founding in 1978, CCGA-NL members have been credited with participation in thousands of missions and saving countless lives. Thousands of people are helped each year in distress and nondistress marine incidents, and millions of dollars in property have been saved. The CCGA has been recognized as one of the best, safest and most cost-effective volunteer marine rescue organizations in the world.

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Three New Teams Added To Canine Services Unit

At the end of July, the Ministry of Natural Resources strengthened its enforcement capacity with the addition of three canine service teams to assist field conservation officers in their investigations and in other duties. The new teams will work out of Thunder Bay, North Bay and Bancroft. Three canine teams are already working out of Dryden, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury.

The teams provide valuable support in tracking poachers and locating concealed fish and wildlife, firearms and other evidence of crimes. They also play a key role in search and rescue efforts, and take part in education and community outreach activities.

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Two hikers defeat the odds

In early August, a 60 year-old man and a 42 year-old woman were reported overdue from their two-week trip through the Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park, in British Columbia.

The pair had not left any information regarding the particulars of their trip, and the search and rescue team, which consisted of eight people, expected to find two bodies when they went to search for the hikers.

Fortunately, the man and woman, who were not carrying a map or wearing appropriate clothing for high altitude, were found unharmed during the second day of the search, after spending 18 days in the wilderness.

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First Air Force civilian SAR Tech recruits earn their wings

By Holly Bridges

The Air Force made history at 19 Wing Comox on June 12 when the first group of civilians recruited “off the street” to become military search and rescue (SAR) technicians graduated from the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue.

In the past, SAR Techs could only be recruited from within the Canadian Forces (CF) after serving a minimum of four years in another military occupation. The Air Force opened up the occupation to Canadians at large over the past couple of years on a trial basis. That trial was a success and Corporal Mike Neilson has the bright orange flying suit, beret and SAR Tech wings to prove it.

“This is my dream job,” says Corporal Mike Neilson, a career firefighter and volunteer searcher with the Coquitlam Search and Rescue team. “I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I love helping people. I love being the guy they call when no one else can get there.”

Cpl Neilson was among three civilians who joined the military to become SAR Techs – the other two are Corporal Scott Hoadley and Private Nick Nissen (he has yet to finish the course due to an injury – he will resume his training in a few months). Like so many Canadians who are choosing to join the CF as a second career, having worked for a decade or so in another field, Cpl Neilson says the military offered him the chance to balance all the needs of his life – home, career and family.

Canada’s brand new SAR Techs pose after their graduation ceremony. Photo Credit: Pte Jax Kennedy

Holly Bridges has been the Air Force Writer and Editor in Ottawa since October 2001. Before that she was the 8 Wing Trenton Public Affairs Officer and Wing newspaper editor. She was a CBC Radio and Television journalist across Canada for almost 15 years

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Search and Rescue Interagency Frequency Update

In January, a family of four was rescued after getting lost in darkness while hiking in the snow near Immenstadt, Germany. After calling for help from the Bergrettung (Mountain Rescue), they were told to point their cell phone display light to the sky. Using night vision goggles, the helicopter crew spotted the tiny light from a distance of 2 kilometers and was able to rescue the family who had been stranded 1000 metres above the valley.

Search and rescue (SAR) providers are reminded that 149.08 MHz, the VHF-FM radio frequency intended to bridge communications gaps between front-line SAR responders, is now available from Industry Canada.

Several dozen ground SAR organizations across Canada have already obtained licenses to use the Search and Rescue Interagency Frequency (SARIF). Most recently, teams in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island came on board, due in part to their participation in Parks Canada’s Exercise Unified Command in June (see SARSCENE 2008 article). The Canadian Coast Guard is also actively looking at their fleet’s capabilities, and is confident that most vessels will be capable of operating on the frequency.

The National Search and Rescue Secretariat and the Ground Search and Rescue Council of Canada are working to communicate the availability and use of this frequency to all SAR providers in Canada. Widespread adoption of the SAR-IF should improve front-line interoperability, efficiency, and safety for SAR missions across the country.

While it will take some time for all SAR providers across Canada to become equipped with the SAR-IF, the move towards acquiring and using this frequency is now an important common goal, particularly when equipment is being purchased or upgraded. Some groups have successfully accessed the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund to help them achieve this goal.

For more information on the frequency, and how to apply for a license, please visit www.nss.gc.ca and click on “SAR-IF” on the left menu.

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Switch to 406 – Aviation Outreach Campaign

The National Search and Rescue Secretariat has been particularly busy this year working to inform Canada’s aviation community about the end of search and rescue (SAR) satellite coverage for 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs).

After February 1, 2009, only emergency beacons that transmit on a primary frequency of 406 MHz will be detected by the International Satellite System for Search and Rescue, COSPAS-SARSAT.

While users of maritime and land distress beacons have already made the switch to the 406 MHz technology, the majority of Canada’s aircraft have yet to exchange their analog 121.5/243 MHz ELTs for digital 406 MHz beacons. The National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS) wants to ensure that aircraft owners are aware of the impending change, and how they can continue to benefit from the COSPAS-SARSAT system after February 1, 2009.

Elements of the aviation outreach program have included mailing information brochures to Canada’s 91,000 licensed pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers; exhibiting at major aviation events and conferences; producing fact sheets and brochures about 406 MHz ELTs; liaising with Canadian distributors of ELTs; and providing briefings to the SAR community, as well as to aviation groups. A particular highlight was being invited to attend and present at the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association’s annual convention, held on July 10 to 12, 2008, in St. Thomas, Ontario. The NSS is also leading a project with consultants, Defence Research and Development Canada, the Canadian Forces, and the Transportation Safety Board, to examine ELT survivability statistics, and make recommendations for how best to monitor their performance in the future.

The NSS is grateful to have the support of its SAR partners in this undertaking, including Transport Canada and the Canadian Forces. In particular, the participation of military SAR personnel in several outreach events this past summer brought an invaluable operational perspective to the Switch to 406 campaign. Hearing how critical an emergency beacon is to the prompt detection and location of a downed aircraft and its injured occupants is particularly compelling when told by those who experience this first hand.

The Switch to 406 outreach project will continue through the winter and spring, with special emphasis on the aviation maintenance community that will be ordering, installing, and testing large numbers of ELTs in Canadian aircraft as the February 1, 2009, date approaches.

For more information on the Switch to 406, please visit www.nss.gc.ca or call the NSS at 1-800-727-9414.

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