For once, SAR doesn't mean Sitting Around Rapping

This morning i participated in a mock search, my first real Search and Rescue drill. It has been dumping snow for the last few days, and last night it turned to rainy snow - we couldn't have asked for crappier conditions to go out tramping in the woods in. Ok, maybe blowing hard and hailing, but it was pretty bad. We all showed up at the fire hall at 10am, to be given a fake scenario in which a couple of teenage boys had left Sandy Beach Park for a hike to City Creek, where they planned on taking the road back to town. They were an hour overdue, and the police station had received calls from other walkers that there was a bear and cub in the City Creek area. The police dog Amigo and his trainer were involved, they got to go out first on the search so that all of our scents would not throw him off. While they were gone, we discussed how she had given him the order "Lieben!" He has been taught most commands in german, assuming that the majority of "bad guys" he goes after will not speak it, therefore he will not slow down when told to stop or heel. The two boys who volunteered to "get lost" were found quite quickly by Amigo, but in the event that a bear was involved in a real search, he would not have been utilized. Too risky for him and his trainer, as he has no training with other animals.

It was exciting, gearing up and heading out. Karen took the radio and i took the pad and pencil to keep track of people and clues. We set off on our mission, as three separate teams. The team who was assigned to start from the City Creek entrance found the boys after about 15 minutes, even though they were given a note at the fire hall that they were to open when they got to their starting point. It said that the bear was "on the bridge," which meant that they would have to determine the best way to deal with that scenario. The guys thought the note meant the bear was on the road bridge, so they arrogantly walked past it onto the trail, where there was a bridge that the bear was supposed to be on. It was meant to slow them down, as the coordinator didnt have the boys too far off the path because of the nasty weather. My team got the call on the handheld radio that team two had found them, and that one boy had suffered a biten hand, and the other had his lef trampled on by the bear and would need medical attention. It was at this point that the police dispatcher called in on our frequency, inquiring if this was a drill or if we really needed the EMT's. Seems someone had forgotten to inform the police station about our drill. There was radio silence for about 10 seconds, until Karen finally got the guts to speak up. All in all, i think it was informative and productive, we were able to debrief and discuss problems, questions, and future concerns. I joined this department in May, and have done nothing but attend meetings and sit around a table talking. It was really neat to do something physical and learn more about what SAR is and its purpose. Of course, i hope i rarely (if never) have to utilize what i've learned, but in the event that a search is commenced, i will be proud to be a part of it.