Avagene Moore: Welcome to the EIIP Virtual Forum Round Table discussion! Avagene Moore: Before introducing our speaker for today, may I remind you that any URLs used in the session are live links. You can click on them and the site will come up in your browser window. Avagene Moore: For example, the GPSAR web site is http://www.gpsar.org . Very interesting site. Avagene Moore: Please do not send Direct Messages to the speaker or moderator during the formal part of our discussion as this is very distracting. Avagene Moore: After the overview of the GPSAR, I will remind you of how we keep order and the procedure for letting me know you have a question or comment. Avagene Moore: Today we are pleased to introduce Steven Labov of the Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue (GPSAR). The GPSAR is one of our newer Partners in the EIIP -- we commend Steven for taking this opportunity to tell us about his organization. ... Avagene Moore: Steven Labov is Department Chief of the Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue in Pennsylvania. The GPSAR is a state and federally recognized search and rescue department of 100 personnel serving PA, NJ, DE and MD, including FEMA CERT Task Force, Mounted Unit, Canine Unit, Water Rescue and Recovery Unit, Explorer Unit and Rope Rescue Unit. Avagene Moore: Steven is a Platoon Commander, Senior Staff Officer and Training Coordinator in the Township of Cheltenham. He is also the Command Officer of a special unit of 40 volunteer police officers. He is responsible for administration, street command, purchasing and instruction of all officers. Avagene Moore: Steven's resume is a very long and impressive one -- he is a Public Safety Instructor, qualified to teach many subjects, and Steven belongs to many local, state and national organizations. We are very pleased he is taking the time to be with us today. Please help me welcome Steven Labov. Steve Detwiler: Welcome Chief! Chief Steven Labov: Hi everyone. Thanks for having me here today. First I want to give you some history of the Department and then I'll be glad to take questions. Chief Steven Labov: Founded in 1979, GPSAR has a primary response area within the States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, however, GPSAR (Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue) responds to... Chief Steven Labov: missions in other states if so requested. When a person is lost or endangered, seconds can mean the difference between life and death. This, lead us to our mission statement. Our motto... Chief Steven Labov: is "Dedication - Perseverance - Service ~ Working Together, So Others May Live". GPSAR is committed to using all of the resources at its disposal to assist in disasters and to locate... Chief Steven Labov: and rescue lost persons. Our mission is carried out through the use of the expertise and technology at the disposal of our department of dedicated volunteers, always with attention... Chief Steven Labov: paid to the safety of all parties involved. Further, it is our intent to educate the public and private sector as to our mission and to help them in developing an understanding of what... Chief Steven Labov: SAR (search and rescue) is, how not to get lost and how to handle a disaster situation. Our Department is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days per week with a volunteer contingent in excess... Chief Steven Labov: of over 65 search and rescue personnel including our unique explorer unit. Services include but are not limited to: wilderness SAR, urban SAR, collapsed structure SAR, cave rescue, ice rescue,... Chief Steven Labov: river rescue, trench rescue, cadaver search, evidence search, criminal tracking/trailing, animal rescue in disasters, disaster assessment by Red Cross certified personnel and, our... Chief Steven Labov: Disaster Assistance Response Team, which may be placed on standby or activated for storms, floods, disasters, etc. Our personnel are also certified FEMA trained CERT (Community... Chief Steven Labov: Emergency Response Teams) and weather spotters by the National Weather Service. GPSAR is currently the only SAR task force designated to work in conjunction and train with the... Chief Steven Labov: military in the tri-state area. Our theory is that combining the resources of GPSAR with other organizations via mutual aid agreements, allows us to provide unsurpassed services and... Chief Steven Labov: resources to serve other agencies, the public, and of course, the victims that we work for. Further, in line with the Presidents Youth Program, GPSAR's Explorer Unit utilizes the... Chief Steven Labov: adults of tomorrow to form SAR specialists today. We utilize extensive resources including; pagers, cellular telephones, VHF-FM radios for immediate dispatch of personnel, a mobile... Chief Steven Labov: command trailer, Canine Unit consisting of both air-scent and ground tracking canines including bloodhounds, Mounted Unit, ATV Team, High Angle/Technical Rescue Team, Mountain Bike Team... Chief Steven Labov: laptop computers, night vision, heat seeking and hearing amplification equipment and a medical team consisting of first-aid/CPR trained personnel, first responders, EMT's, nurses... Chief Steven Labov: and physicians. Our personnel are also trained not only in search skills, but also land navigation, logistics, search resources allocation and, we maintain a historical data base... Chief Steven Labov: of lost person behaviors. GPSAR can also assist in pre-planning for the search. We assist with risk management, resources needs projections, mutual aid planning and operating procedures... Chief Steven Labov: to take prior to arrival of the SAR Task Force. We have within our Department, numerous Search Managers (MSO) who are certified as such by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Training... Chief Steven Labov: programs that we offer to other departments are in the areas of Basic SAR Operations, Managing Search Operations (MSO), Emergency Response to Terrorism and the FEMA CERT task force training... Chief Steven Labov: You can also find our Department listed on the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) CERT web site at: http://wwwfema.gov/emi/cert/c_pa.htm ... Chief Steven Labov: The ERT and FEMA CERT were brought about, due to the ever changing events in today's society. This changed our mission statement directing our efforts into the disaster operations/... Chief Steven Labov: terrorist emergency response area as well as search and rescue. Training in these specialize areas is available in-house and at the various area fire academies... Chief Steven Labov: A wealth of knowledge is available with training programs in many areas such as: Basic SAR Operations, Manager of Search Operations, First Aid/CPR, Structural Collapse Operations,... Chief Steven Labov: Emergency Response to Terrorism, FEMA CERT (basic 16 hour and advanced 40 hour), HazMat, Wilderness Survival, Wilderness Medicine, Aircraft Crash Rescue, Leadership, Animal Rescue,... Chief Steven Labov: Disaster Management, Disaster Preparedness For Animals, Stress Management, Crime Scene Preservation, Water Rescue, etc. The classes are at no charge or very nominally priced... Chief Steven Labov: Aside from training, we enjoy many special events and educational details. Our Department saw over 75 for 1998 alone. We support the Juvenile Diabetes Walk-A-Thon's with safety and... Chief Steven Labov: first aid. We conduct educational classes for the boy scouts and girl scouts on how not to get lost and, what to do if they do. We attend the Muscular Dystrophy Summer Camp with our... Chief Steven Labov: personnel from the Canine Unit, Mounted Unit, Explorer Unit, Mountain Bike Team, etc. The smile on the faces of the children at the camp is worth the day alone. All of our personnel... Chief Steven Labov: donate their time for these events. These events have lead us to obtain corporate supporters such as Alpo and PetSmart. Then, of course, there are the missions. When dispatched to... Chief Steven Labov: a mission, we never know whether or not it will be a bastard search (a search where the victim is not in the area as expected) or a full blown criminal matter. Bastard searches are an... Chief Steven Labov: unfortunate waste of time and resources. About 7 years ago we had one in which the "victim" was located in London with his girlfriend while all of the resources were in the field looking... Chief Steven Labov: for him. On the other side of the coin, about 4 years ago we had a double homicide at Valley Forge National Park in which a mother and her infant daughter were reported "missing"... Chief Steven Labov: The daughter was found in the park. A few days later, the mother was found in another park about 10 miles away when the suspect was arrested and admitted to the murders and told where the... Chief Steven Labov: mothers body was. There are other types of missions also. Three years ago, we were called to assist State Police on a "walk-away" from a nursing center. Unfortunately, due to... Chief Steven Labov: circumstances, we were not called until day 5. We did find the victim in 8 hours, face down in the dirt, alive. He did live but needed both knees replaced. He had been laying face down... Chief Steven Labov: in the dirt in that same spot for 5 days, night and day and through a thunderstorm. On another case, we were called up to the center of the State of PA for another "walk away". We had... Chief Steven Labov: been called about 20 hours into the search. It took us 4 hours to get to the scene at emergency response. We re- evaluated what had been done, re-deployed the resources and the victim was... Chief Steven Labov: found a few hours later, alive. About 2 years ago, we were called to assist state police with a life prisoner that had escaped from the state prison. We have a small group of personnel... Chief Steven Labov: that volunteer for these missions. With our bloodhound and air-scent canines, we caught up with him the following morning as the bloodhound closed in while he was breaking into a house... Chief Steven Labov: About a year ago, we were requested by local police to assist in searching a 250 acre park in which it was suspected that there was a possible suicide. This was an unusual case in that... Chief Steven Labov: we were called on day 4 and, due to the victims religious beliefs had to be buried on day 5. While we could not promise for sure, our dedicated personnel, utilizing proper search... Chief Steven Labov: techniques found the victim in less than 3 hours. It was the first time that we know of that horses were credited for assisting in finding the victim. The victim was deceased however,... Chief Steven Labov: this type of "find" is just as important as a live find as it brings closure to the family. Most recently, we were dispatched for Hurricane Floyd. I am sure we are all familiar with the... Chief Steven Labov: devastation of this one. The lower end of PA was a very hard hit area. We had one elderly gentleman that was swept away in his van by the flood waters. As he tried to exit the van... Chief Steven Labov: via rolling down a window, the swift-water carried him away, so we were pretty sure it was going to be a recovery. Using search management techniques, we determined where the victim most... Chief Steven Labov: likely was. We deployed resources and in about 4 hours had an alert from one of the canine teams. While the alert was strong, we could not get to the specific area due to the amount... Chief Steven Labov: of debris in the area from the flood. It took several days with a backhoe to clear the debris to get to the area and, the victims body was about 10 feet down in the debris... Chief Steven Labov: Our Department is dispatched by Montgomery County, PA Emergency Operations Center. General questions can be answered at our office (215-922-7225), on our web site (www.gpsar.org) and,... Chief Steven Labov: an important point to note is that GPSAR does not charge for any services to the community and, is liability insured. All expenses for equipment and operations is donated by the... Chief Steven Labov: members with additional support from the community. There currently are no grants or funds available for search and rescue departments in the State of Pennsylvania and surrounding... Chief Steven Labov: states. A current list of our Department resources can be found on our web site at: Chief Steven Labov: http://www.gpsar.org/resources.html Chief Steven Labov: I invite all to our web site at: http://www.gpsar.org. For any questions after today, I can be reached by e-mail at: StevenL@Prodigy.net Chief Steven Labov: At this time, I'll be glad to field questions in my area of expertise: search and rescue, disaster operations and counter-terrorism. If I don't know the answer to a question,... Chief Steven Labov: I will research it and find out for you. Avagene Moore: Thank you, Steven. The GPSAR is an organization to be very proud of! Great work you are doing. ... Avagene Moore: May I remind everyone about the procedure for asking questions at this point? ... Avagene Moore: If you have a question or comment for Steven, please input a question mark (?) to the screen. Compose your question or remarks and hold them until you are recognized -- then hit 'Enter' or 'Send' to submit your question. Questions/comments will be recognized in the order they are submitted to the chat screen. ... Avagene Moore: First question of Steven, please. Jon Kavanagh: ? Avagene Moore: Jon, please. Libbi RuckerReed: ? Steve Detwiler: ? Jon Kavanagh: With all your abilities, is it difficult to find volunteers who can spend that much time keeping their skills up? Chief Steven Labov: For some odd reason, we seem to be having a steady influx of volunteers. They usually come to the dept. with skill that they simply maintain. The specialty units such as canine train twice a week. There usually is not a problem. They also have to maintain a minimum amount of training to stay in the units. Avagene Moore: Libbi, you are next. Leslie Little: ? Terry Storer: ? Libbi RuckerReed: You mentioned liability insurance? Do you insure your people, who pays for that and what is your coverage? Does it cover medical for your people injured while working a SAR? Chief Steven Labov: This is a question that is a good one. Most SAR organizations in PA, NJ, etc. work w/o insurance. We have a million dollar liability coverage. This is extended when we have the Explorer Unit involved to 2 million. All members are insured for liability. They pay for the insurance in their dues of $25 a year for active members. The insurance is about the cost of the dues. Medical is not covered and we recommend that the person has medical coverage. Avagene Moore: Note to Steven: If you have a lengthy response, you can break it up and use the ... to let us know you have not completed your answer -- more is coming. Just a suggestion. Avagene Moore: Steve D, you are next. please. Steve Detwiler: In terms of disaster operations what are your team's specific responsibilities? Mike Krumlauf: ! Chief Steven Labov: We are a mutual aid agency. We assist other department (fire/police, etc) when call to augment personnel. Our personnel are trained in various... Chief Steven Labov: areas such as collapse structure, etc. so it is also possible that one unit may be requested over an entire department dispatch. Avagene Moore: Leslie, next, please. Steve Detwiler: ? Leslie little: Thank you. Not having experience with SAR, my question may seem silly, but do you have specialized teams or training when searching for mentally impaired or cognitively impaired citizens? Chief Steven Labov: This is a good question. The MSO or Manager of Search Operations training program is 40 hours in length and certified by the state. In this course it addresses the issues of searching for individuals with impairments as you mention. They do have specific things that they do which we watch for. As an example... Chief Steven Labov: with the cognitive problem, they will take the path of least resistance and usually will walk down hill even on a slight grade. By looking at a topographical map you can almost determine which route they took before you get to the scene. Avagene Moore: Terry, your question, please. Terry Storer: Thanks. Chief what are your protocols for handling the self-dispatched, untrained rescuers ? We find it to be a public relations nightmare. Avagene Moore: ? Amy Sebring: ? Chief Steven Labov: This is a problem and one that we were discussing Sunday at our Board meeting. Unfortunately, in PA there is no regulation by the state for SAR operation... Chief Steven Labov: This, can lead to the problems that you mention. Until this is resolved, at the state level, it will continue. Avagene Moore: Mike, you wished to comment, please do so. Mike Krumlauf: We - Montgomery County Maryland - register many Emergency Management Volunteers (comms, sar, first aid, etc,). We do background checks and issue County Picture ID's. We register members of Mid-Atlantic Dogs and Trail Riders of Today-SAR (TROT-SAR). When we activate them within the County they are covered under the County's insurance and worker comp. Another option to look at for folks. Does require a lot of work from us to keep ID's current. justindrittlerATU: ? Avagene Moore: Steve, another question? Avagene Moore: Steve Detwiler, that is. Peter Picanso: ? Chief Steven Labov: Mike, unfortunately, the county is a dead issue for insurance. We also do criminal record check, ID's ,etc. Avagene Moore: What type of retention problems do you have if any? (Steve, we will come back to you.) Avagene Moore: Many volunteer groups can keep their volunteers. Avagene Moore: Cannot, sorry. Chief Steven Labov: It is not so much a retention problem versus a problem of active / inactive personnel. We find (as with many volunteer organizations that I am with) that a core group of people do most of the active work. So, we can keep the people, the trick is to get as many out as possible. Avagene Moore: Amy, you are next, please. Amy Sebring: Has your organization participated in any international deployments? Terry Storer: ? Chief Steven Labov: While available if needed, we have served in 5 states surrounding PA. Avagene Moore: Justin, your question, please. justindrittlerATU: Talking about the ids. We use them down here in Pope County Arkansas, but the only time that they are checked is when it is a crime scene, and even then sometimes they are not checked. Whose job is it to check them? Amy Sebring: ? Chief Steven Labov: Usually, the police set up the area that the volunteers enter to. It is their job to insure that personnel on the scene have a right to be there. We also ask for credentials on the sign in sheet of resources. Avagene Moore: Peter, your question. Peter Picanso: Do you on a large scale operation have problems with out of area personnel not recognizing your ID and your permission to be in the area? How do you handle this situation? Chief Steven Labov: We usually will not deploy unless requested at which point, we have been requested by the responsible authority and have authorization to be there. The problem that I see most of all... Chief Steven Labov: is infighting among organizations due to "turf" situations. I have seen situations where one organization will leave the victim in the field sooner than call another department in to assist. Sad as it may seem. Avagene Moore: Steve is ready with his question -- please submit, Steve. Steve Detwiler: This might have been asked but what is the working relationship between your department and Montgomery County Public Safety? How much do they support you? Chief Steven Labov: We are supported to the point that we are dispatched by County and have been for about 12 years. We also utilize the fire academy for training as do the fire companies. Avagene Moore: Terry, you are next, please. Terry Storer: What software do you use for search management ? (We use CASIE 3} Chief Steven Labov: Terry, every organization uses something different. I prefer to use the topo map, paper and pencil. One of the asst. search managers can use the laptop. While I am familiar with the computer and software, I still prefer the paper and pencil method. Avagene Moore: Amy, your question please. (We have a few more minutes, please submit your ? if you have a question of Chief Steven Labov.) Amy Sebring: Do you use the Incident Command System (ICS) in your operations? and/or do you effectively integrate with an existing IC structure for an incident? Avagene Moore: ? Peter Picanso: ? Chief Steven Labov: Yes on both. We use ICS do that if the incident grows, we can dovetail with other organizations. ICS is required of all of our officers. Avagene Moore: Are your people all cross-trained? Or do they select areas or teams that they wish to be trained for? Chief Steven Labov: All personnel must have the basic SAR training. From there, they may select a specialty unit. They must certify within that unit and maintain the certification, training and minimum practice sessions. Avagene Moore: Peter, your question, please. Peter Picanso: How do you maintain your relationships with the "professionals". Do you train with them? Amy Sebring: ! Avagene Moore: (Other questions, folks?) Terry Storer: ? Chief Steven Labov: Yes we do, but the relationship can vary from dept. to dept. As I was saying earlier, the biggest problem with both full time and volunteer is territorial situations. Avagene Moore: Amy, please submit your comment. Amy Sebring: I am particularly disturbed by how no matter how many times you tell people NOT to drive through water, they continue to do it, and put response personnel at risk. What further opportunities do you see for public education on this issue? Chief Steven Labov: I agree with you Amy. During H. Floyd, we can all remember seeing pictures of cars in water and other cars following them right in. This is a public safety... Chief Steven Labov: issue and should be addressed as such. Why it is not, I don't know. Avagene Moore: Terry, submit your question, please. Terry Storer: What are your primary communications systems ? Avagene Moore: (Time for one more question after Terry's.) Peter Picanso: ? Chief Steven Labov: Once dispatched, we go to our designated freq. of 155.265 VHF. We utilize very small 5 watt radios which have capability for voice activated headsets, etc. which are great for the high angle and mounted unit personnel. Avagene Moore: Our last question today. Peter, please. Peter Picanso: Do you train on swift-water rescue at all or is this not an issue where you are located? Chief Steven Labov: It is an issue during situations such as H. Floyd. We recently started a water rescue unit due to situations such as this and they are attending state training now. However, it would not be a unit that most would be interested in due to the fact that is would not be utilized to often. Most personnel to like to utilize there expertise as much as possible. Avagene Moore: Thank you, Steven. Excellent presentation. Thanks to you, our audience. ... Avagene Moore: Our time is about up for today's Round Table. If you did not have a chance to ask your question, please hang around for a few minutes after the official close of the session and we will try to take your question. ... Avagene Moore: We hope Steven can stay online for a few moments after we close so we can all express our appreciation for his fine presentation. Audience, you were great also. ... Chief Steven Labov: I do have the time to stay for additional questions. Avagene Moore: Amy, upcoming events and status of Pledge Drive please. Thanks Steven. Amy Sebring: Thanks Avagene. Amy Sebring: Tomorrow in our Tech Arena, I will be presenting "Virtual Communities with TeamWave Workplace." Following the regular session, we will do an actual demo. Amy Sebring: If you would like to participate in the demo, see the instructions at http://www.emforum.org/varena/991124.htm#DEMO . You will need to do some setting up in advance. Amy Sebring: Next week our Round Table features an overview of a recent exercise conducted by EIIP partner, Lake County, IN LEPC and the US Department of Energy (DOE). justindrittlerATU: Thank you Steve. This was a good learning experience for me. Amy Sebring: The “POPEYE” (Preparedness Observation Planning EmergencY Exercise) exercise was an opportunity for local, state, and federal emergency response organizations to coordinate actions during a simulated transportation accident involving radioactive materials. Amy Sebring: Round Table speakers are Bill Timmer, Lake County LEPC Chair; Dean Larson, US Steel; and Ella McNeill, DOE. Amy Sebring: We have one new pledge since last week from Christopher Effgen for a total of 96! Amy Sebring: //bell http://www.emforum.org/pledge.wav Thanks Christopher! Amy Sebring: We would VERY much like to wrap up this pledge drive before Thanksgiving, and only need 4 more to do it. If you have not pledged to join us for one or more sessions each month, please see http://www.emforum.org/eiip/pledge.htm Amy Sebring: Also, we are pleased to be hosting the Virtual Fire & Rescue Exposition Workshop chats this week and next. These take place primarily during the evening hours although one will be starting shortly. Amy Sebring: For the complete schedule, see http://www.vfre.com/chatprogram.asp Amy Sebring: We are also working on another WEBEX exercise for Dec. 3, using plans and participants from the City of Pittsburgh this year. You are invited to observe or play along. See http://www.vfre.com/vfre_frame2.asp?pres=26 Amy Sebring: Ok, that wraps our session for today... Amy Sebring: thank you all very much!