Vol. 12, No. 4, April 2016 |
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Advanced Animal Technical Rescue Workshop “Rodeo” a Resounding Success
On March 7-9 2016, Florida SART, coordinated by the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, brought animal technical rescue team responders from around the state to Gainesville to participate in a first of its kind in the nation, Animal Technical Rescue Workshop – a.k.a “Rodeo.”
Over the past several years, FL SART has offered the two day, NFPA technical rescue standards compliant, Operations Level Animal Technical Rescue course to a number of agencies around the state. This workshop would provide an opportunity to increase their learning and face greater challenges.
The Technical Rodeo brought participants together to face scenarios more advanced than what are typically available as part of the normal class.
Some of the scenarios are based on news stories of actual rescues in the past year. Participants also learned new rigging techniques and used new equipment not normally presented in class. The workshop also presented the team with the challenge of having to integrate multiple agencies and using an expanded and at times unfamiliar equipment cache.
Participants including Volusia, St Johns, Miami Dade, and Lakeland Fire Technical Rescue Teams, Alachua County Fire, as well as Polk, Lee, Collier, and Alachua County Sheriff’s Offices.
The use of ICS for effective span of control and team management was essential. Unlike in the normal class setting, where victims are near the rescuers, victims were down steep inclines/cliffs, requiring careful planning, and equipment management.
Monday afternoon provided an opportunity to bring everyone together, learn about each participants’ areas of expertise and how they would contribute to the team, provided a time to conduct skills and techniques review, identify key areas of safety, and define success criteria for each scenario.
Participants were given a preview of what each scenario would be like, and they were able to select team leaders in advance – a different team leader was required for each scenario as an added challenge.
Tues was a full day in the field faced with multiple scenarios. The first scenario involved a trailer accident with horse extrication.
Unlike a typical class presentation, the trailer was actually available to be cut up, and the horse extricated. This was done in conjunction with the Alachua County Rescue Squad and its cutting tools. The horse was also presented in a more challenging position to be moved and packaged in.
The second scenario involved both a boy and his dog that ended up in the bottom of a 50-foot quarry. The high angle scenario required putting responders on rope to access the victims, and required them to work over a low point edge to get the victims to safety. This scenario presented several new challenges to the participants, and opportunities to learn from each other. The third scenario involved a horse in the bottom of a long steep 70-foot ravine.
The scenario was even more challenging in that there was a second level shelf on the route up, and there was not a straight path to come up, which would require the victim to be maneuvered around trees on the way to safety.
Enrollment Open: Multiple Levels for Small Animal Emergency Sheltering
The Florida State Animal Response Coalition has upcoming opportunities for their Awareness Level and Operations Level Small Animal Emergency Sheltering.
When disaster strikes, the team of trained volunteer responders will be there to shelter and protect Florida's companion animals.
This Awareness Level class gives students the knowledge necessary to work in an emergency animal shelter. This class provides expertise and practical experience required to become a professional disaster animal responder. The Awareness Level Small Animal Emergency Sheltering class is certified by the Florida Department of Emergency Management and is required to respond in Florida to help companion animals during a disaster.
The Operations Level course will give you many new job options, in addition to leadership skills and team lead opportunities. This course expands upon information covered in FL-003-RESP and ICS-100 courses. These earlier courses are prerequisites for FL-607-RESP.
Course topics include: Personal Preparedness, Overview of the Incident Command System, Deployment Preparedness, Assisting in Shelter Set Up, Daily Care and Feeding, Proper Cage Cleaning and Disinfection, Animal Behavior, Stress Management, Zoonotic Diseases, and Personal Safety.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will continue to monitor.
For more information, please visit: http://flsarc.org/Training.html
April 16 Course – Sarasota, FL (Awareness Level)
When: Saturday April 16, 2016 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT
Where: Cat Depot Education Resource Center, 2542 17th Street, Sarasota, FL 34234
April 23-24 Course – Panama City, FL (Operations Level)
When: Saturday April 23, 2016 at 8:00 AM CDT -to- Sunday April 24, 2016 at 6:00 PM CDT
Where: Bay County Emergency Operations Center, 700 Highway 2300, Panama City, FL 32409
May 14-15 Course – Sarasota, FL (Operations Level)
When: Saturday May 14, 2016 at 8:00 AM EDT -to- Sunday May 15, 2016 at 6:00 PM EDT
Where: Cat Depot Education Resource Center, 2542 17th Street, Sarasota, FL 34234
SART Conducts Disaster Exercise in Bay County
The day dawned bright and sunny but the Panama City community was still recovering from a devastating hurricane causing survivors and their pets to seek shelter. Or so the scenario unfolded during the recent State Agricultural Response Team (SART) two-day workshop in Bay County.
The simulated event provided an opportunity to bring together state and local partners to practice setting up a pet friendly evacuation shelter at the Central Panhandle Fairground in Bay County. The need for such shelters was emphasized after Hurricane Katrina where 47% of those who did not evacuate stayed because of their pets. The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act requires state and local government to plan for the evacuation of pets and service animals. In Florida, that plan is to keep an owner and their pet together as much as possible.
SART provided support to Bay County Emergency Services, including the Bay County Animal Services, Bay County Fire Services, Bay County Emergency Management and the Department of Health in Bay County, during the workshop. This was the first opportunity for a pet friendly shelter to be activated in Bay County and also included participation from key regional partners such as the Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross, Florida Baptist Active in Disaster and the North Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force.
The shelter not only included people and their pets, but an area for people with special needs and service animals was also established and staffed by the Bay County Area Medical Reserve Corps.
Preparations were well underway on the Saturday before the event. Pictured above, John Haven with SART, led the team in a planning meeting. Responders pre- staged resources and camped out – just as they would in a real disaster. Mr. Haven has been instrumental in leading the SART and its training program to be one of the best in the nation.
Below, community volunteers and their pets participated with the workshop, posing as disaster survivors. In addition, Bay County Animal Services brought dogs from the animal shelter to participate throughout the day.
Led by Dr. Cynda Crawford, veterinarians and students from the University of Florida (UF) and Mississippi State University (MSU) partnered to form an animal medical triage and treatment unit.
This provided an opportunity for the Vet Corps and students from the University of Florida and Mississippi State University’s Colleges of Veterinary Medicine to work together and practice medical care in the field. It also gave them a chance to work with agencies not typically involved in animal care like Bay County Fire Rescue, the Red Cross and DOH in Bay County. Once the owner and the pet had registered and been triaged, medical treatment was available if necessary.
Some pets had been rescued from flood waters before arriving at the shelter. This required decontamination before they could be admitted into the shelter. The Bay County Fire Rescue and HazMat response team practiced on-site decontamination on both small and large animals. Not a typical partner during the sheltering process, the Workshop provided a valuable opportunity to practice field response and meet other responders before a disaster occurs.
Once the animals were registered, decontaminated and medically treated they were ready to move to the pet shelter area. The Florida State Animal Response Coalition (SARC) managed this portion of the shelter setting up mobile kennels available regionally from SART.
During the registration process each owner was provided with a wrist bracelet and the pet with a neck band uniquely identifying both the owner and their pet. These bands ensure that the owner and pet will always be correctly re-united. Having their pet at the same shelter allows owners to feed, walk and visit with their furry friend whenever they want.
SART not only has mobile kennels available, but can also house large animals. Mr. Joe Kight, FDACS, who has been instrumental in the development of SART, is pictured here outside of one of seven mobile livestock pens. Each of the seven RDSTF regions has a cache of Mobile Animal Rescue Equipment (MARE).
