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Post by pcartwright on Mar 19, 2006 13:15:44 GMT -5
I recently moved to Towanda from Tioga County New York. My wife and her family are all from Bradford County.
While giving a presentation on my trip to Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina Relief, I met Stacy Cotter. At that point I had placed my application for membership with:
Towanda Fire Department 15 Western EMS
While speaking with Stacy she told me that Western did away with their Wilderness SAR team. While I am not from this area, I can say that when working at DuPont (Security Manager) a few years ago, we released Emergency Personnel several times for SAR calls.
The reason for my post is that Bradford County has allot of forest areas, with great potential for missing persons.
Has the county ever thought of having a "County SAR Team" like Tioga & Broome County NY?
I know I am new but just wanted to get others point of view on these things.
Hope to start working with you all soon!
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Post by SIERRA 14 on Mar 19, 2006 19:27:30 GMT -5
The Forest Fire Team that was set up in Bradford County through Forestry really isn't a "County" team. One of my goals when I accepted the Fire Supervisor position for the District was to strengthen the fire warden crews. There are basically two types of warden crews: local & support. The support crews require crew members to pass a work capacity test, minimum of 10 firefighters available for assignment, must be incorporated and requires more training than a local warden crew. Higher level of training = Higher expectations = Higher rate of pay. When the "County" crew was originally set up it was headed up by a warden. I encouraged the crew to become a support crew. The warden said there just wasn't enough interest with the "County" crew members to become a support crew. The local warden crews have strengthened greatly over the past couple of years. Now that the warden crews are getting stronger I would love to see a support crew in the county. If anybody is interested or would like more information please let me know. This post really doesn't have too much to do with the thread topic but I just wanted to clarify the "County" forest fire team status. I agree local warden and support crews could be utilized for SAR as well. FYI The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is the primary coordinator for search and rescue efforts on state forest and state park lands within the commonwealth. Below is the link to forestry’s web site for more information. www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/searchandrescue/index.aspx
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Post by pcartwright on Mar 19, 2006 20:46:05 GMT -5
The forest team and SAR being handled by the DCNR is the same in New York however it is the DEC in NY... The DEC in NY does the SAR training too.
Maybe a combo team would work great! Anyone have other thoughts on the idea? Anyone interested in forming a SAR team?
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Post by herrick3 on Mar 20, 2006 7:50:14 GMT -5
I think a SAR team would be a great idea. We know that we have at least 3 ATVs in the county already, and they are actually spread out in pretty good locations, so they would be able to respond anywhere within a reasonable amount of time. Two of them are outfitted, or going to be outfitted with the riggings to carry a stokes basket, and at least one can carry an EMT as well as the basket. I'd be willing to be a part of this team.
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Post by SIERRA 14 on Mar 20, 2006 8:39:00 GMT -5
The forest team and SAR being handled by the DCNR is the same in New York however it is the DEC in NY... The DEC in NY does the SAR training too. Pat, DCNR does SAR training as well. I'm not too involved on that side of things but there is training available. If you're interested I can hook you up with the SAR coordinator for our district. I agree that having warden and support crews involved with SAR's is a great idea! We (the fire supervisors) have said many times during our inspector meetings that the warden and support crews are not being utilized to the fullest potential i.e. SAR's, weather events, etc. Maybe when things green up I'll get with our SAR coordinator to see about getting our warden crews (we don't have a support crew) more involved with SAR's and training. Whatever... That's what they called it when it was dispatched. BTW... What's that by the hour pay rate up to now? Still thirteen cents an hour for forest fires? Chris, I just wanted to make sure it was clear that forestry only has local warden crews in Bradford County at this time. A couple of years ago there was quite a bit of confusion regarding the "County Crew". I am all for a "County Crew" however I feel a larger crew like that should be a support crew and have the organizational structure to support it. Keep in mind that support crews do not have to be on a county wide level and can be made up of multiple local warden crews as long as they meet the minimum staffing of 10. Realistically the crew needs to consist of 15 - 20 people in order to get 10 line firefighters available at any one given time. Give me a call if you would like more info or have any questions. There is a post in the DCNR District #16 section regarding rates for wildfire suppression. Granted they are not much but it beats nothing.
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Post by blueeighty8 on Mar 20, 2006 9:24:58 GMT -5
Paid for chain saw gas...
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Post by chief58 on Mar 20, 2006 20:39:03 GMT -5
Just thought if you have search teams and you have a search where do the search managers (overhead team) come from I only have one DCNR employee listed for Bradford county Here in Sullivan we have 4 DCNR Managers and 5 DCNR Volunteer Managers and 5 Volunteer Hasty Team crews and we seem to do at least 1 to 6 searches per year and this year we have had 3 already. Hasty Team training I think Bucks has that, most of our teams have been training by DCNR we have a volunteer trainer in the county. But I thought that Department 15 had SAR people in the Department and I thought they had a few members that had dogs what happen to them ?
Just putting my two cents in.
Chief 58
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Post by SIERRA 14 on Mar 20, 2006 20:55:12 GMT -5
There is only one forestry employee that is based in Bradford County. There are at least 5 SAR managers that work in the Tioga Forest District. I'm not sure how many managers the area state parks have.
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Post by chief58 on Mar 21, 2006 19:52:39 GMT -5
Now I'm not sure but I think that part of Bradford Forestry will be coming out of the new Forestry Office that is going to be built in Sullivan County this spring. Hows Mike Norris doing I haven't seen him in a while, does he still have his search dogs
Chief 58
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Post by SIERRA 14 on Mar 21, 2006 20:06:41 GMT -5
Eventually the plan is that Bradford County will be part of the Loyalsock Forest District #20. The District Office will be in the Laporte area. I doubt any boundaries or responsibilities will change for a while (I guessing at least a year).
I can't honestly tell you if Mike still has his search dogs.
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Post by chief58 on Mar 21, 2006 20:17:07 GMT -5
I thought that's what was going to happen, the new office is only 5 miles from our station
Chief 58
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