SAR and Cognative Disability

Over the years, BAMRU has searched for many people who have been diagnosed with conditions including autism, Alzheimer's and dementia. These types of searches can be quite challenging for searchers, search subjects and their families.

National Public Radio has done an interesting feature that highlights searches involving Cognative Disabilites in the state of Virginia. Many of the stories are similar to our own experiences - click here to listen.

2011 Year End Summary

2011 Year End Summary:

In 2011 BAMRU participated in 28 missions, logged 2352 human-hours on missions , and 6120 human-hours  (1769 more than last year!) on training, in addition to countless hours which each member logged to enhance personal skills, knowledge, and abilities. We also saw seven membership promotions and reluctantly but proudly let other members go to pursue their dreams.

The team was also able to make a good dent in our fundraising goals thanks to Cal Hoagland and the fundraising committee. We hope to continue this trend in 2012 in order to maintain our readiness which relies on team equipment and skills for our members.  If you would like to help us in this endeavor, you can donate here:  http://www.bamru.info/donate 


Looking forward to a safe and happy 2012!   

Thankfully, search and rescue call outs don't always come pouring in.  When we aren't training or participating in an operation, BAMRU team members can be found volunteering at events all over our local community.  Here are some of the things we've been up to this fall. 

Urban Shield:
Over the weekend of October 15 - 17, BAMRU was requested to provide staff at the annual Urban Shield SWAT exercise. During the weekend, SWAT teams from around the world converged on the Bay Area to compete, with each team not sleeping for more than a few hours the entire weekend and performing tasks from rappelling off the Bay Bridge to taking a building back from terrorists.  Over 75 law enforcement  agencies took part in one form or another and over 3,000 persons were involved in the event as participants, role players, or volunteers.  The exercise was operated by the Alameda County Sheriff, with BAMRU operating on behalf of the San Mateo County Sheriff.

We extend our thanks and congratulations to the teams who participated and look forward to helping with other trainings in the future.

Halfmoon Bay Pumpkin Festival:
The Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Fest is the biggest coastside art & music festival of the year; the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office (and BAMRU) provided traffic control and crowd services.  A BAMRU team memebr was on site to help with logistics, crowd control and traffic control at several locations, and returned three lost children to their mothers.

Hug-a-Tree:
Hug-a-tree is a community outreach program for which we periodically perform presentations on behalf of the Sheriff's Office. The program teaches kids (and parents) some basic and vital survival principles to use if they ever get lost.  We have performed this for schools, youth groups, Boy & Girl Scouts, friends and family groups. It promotes good practices for kids (and adults) when going into the back country and can have applications for urban environments as well.

Coming up- Storm Watch:
The rainy season is upon us.  Although we welcome the needed water, sometimes we get too much of a good thing.  When the weather results in dangerous conditions you can expect to see BAMRU members out in the community assisting the San Mateo County Sheriff's office with their Storm Watch program.  'Storm Watch' is an emergency response procedure that the San Mateo Sheriff's Office uses for the Santa Cruz mountains and San Mateo coast.

Free Topo Maps

BAMRU is a heavy user of GPS and Mapping tools, and has deep experience with a variety of products. Having quick access to current maps is critical for our team.

One of our members has developed CalTopo, a website with printable USGS topos for all of California. It's faster and more convenient than any service we've seen. CalTopo was created for search and rescue teams, and now for the first time it is available to the general public.

Give CalTopo a try, and if you like it, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to BAMRU. Learn More

MRA Recertification

Last weekend, BAMRU completed the annual Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) recertification, this year held near Lone Pine, CA.

The Lone Pine Recert focused on technical rock rescue. Teams were engaged in scenarios involving an injured climber who was immobile in a high-angle environment. Once the subject was located, teams were expected to administer appropriate medical treatment, then extricate and transport the subject back to a command post.

On all accounts, the event was a huge success. BAMRU attended the event on the heels of a number of recent mutual aid responses across the state.

Oakland Health Fair

John Mandish, Chris Seffens and Ethan Frantz represented BAMRU during a recent Health Fair at Oakland Technical High School. The event gave students a chance to talk with a wide variety of health and wellness service providers.

BAMRU answered questions from about 200 students over the course of the 5 hours we were there.

BAMRU displayed the contents of a trauma pack, AED, Satellite Phone, Puxing Handheld Radio, Personal First Aid Kit, Candy and other SAR related items. We also demonstrated our litter, technical rescue equipment, avalanche probe and shovel.

Thanks to Melissa Brown, the Director of La Clínica de La Raza who sponsored the event. We met a lot of great kids, and hope to attend again next year.

New Section Chiefs

On February 20th, Ethan Frantz and Colin Little successfully completed the Section Chief Search Management course taught by Chris Young of Contra Costa SAR. This course has been developed by the Bay Area Search and Rescue Council to help standardize search management practices throughout the Bay Area.

This course is designed to teach hands on and theoretical skills in search management at the Section Chief level in Planning, Operations and Logistics functions. The cadre of instructors bring hundreds of hours of search and search management experience. The course follows the four phases of a search: hasty, 1st operational, multiple operations, and the find/suspension periods.

Also present at the course were Cal Hoagland and Bill Parker. Both had previously completed the class and volunteered their time to help proctor the tabletop exercises.

Congrats Ethan and Colin!!!

BAMRU thanks Planet Granite

BAMRU is grateful to have gotten a generous offer of support from Planet Granite (PG), a local business with climbing gyms across the Bay Area.

PG has long been the favorite climbing gym of many BAMRU members, and some have actually been employees of PG over the years.  PG's generous discounts for BAMRU members are already helping to build and maintain the climbing skills and fitness of our team.

On Dec. 9th Eric Leong presented a Certificate of Appreciation from BAMRU Unit Leader Tom Grossman to Renee De Angelis, co-owner of Planet Granite.

Learn more about Planet Granite at http://planetgranite.com.

Cold Night in Loma Mar

Yesterday evening BAMRU was called for a search near Loma Mar, CA in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The incident involved six overdue female hikers in their mid-20’s. Conditions were described by as “cold, raining and muddy condition.”

The women were able to call 911 with a basic cell phone and were patched into the command post. The subject calling said they were lost and cold. The mobile phone connection was lost and their cell phone battery was running low.

BAMRU participated in a hasty search of a fire road climbing up 1,000 feet to a ridge top. Near the top we saw small lights waving at us, and we found the subjects. All were shivering, a little confused and needed warmth, but did not seem to have severe hypothermia.

We arrived back at the CP after 2AM and the team was released quickly.

Search resources deployed during the operations included four dogs from CARDA, Several San Mateo Sheriff Deputies, local fire, SMC SAR, SMC Mounted SAR, SMC Communications Unit and BAMRU filled ground resources.

New Twist on Litter Handling

This weekend BAMRU practiced litter handling techniques in Cave Gulch in Santa Cruz county. Instructors from the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) introduced BAMRU to various litter movement techniques, including The California Shuffle, The Lap Pass, The Turtle, The Snake, and The Caterpillar.

All of the techniques included generous helpings of dirt, mud, cold and wet.

Everyone was impressed with how hard it is to haul a patient out through a narrow passageway.

After the exercise the team met for hot tea and a debriefing session. Everyone then headed towards their own homes; colder, muddier, and definitely wiser.

Many thanks to our NCRC trainers.

BAMRU on Alcatraz

On Thursday October 7th, BAMRU volunteered with the NPS to conduct routine maintenance on Alcatraz Island. After meeting at 0830 and taking the first ferry out to the island, BAMRU began work setting up simple main/belay rope systems over the east side of the prison cliff-side, to eradicate the non-native eucalyptus trees growing over the edge. At around noon, we broke for lunch courtesy of the NPS.

After lunch, Owen, a NPS Ranger kindly let us atop the lighthouse to see the blue angels' practice run. BAMRU returned to conduct an evening eradication session before calling it a day.

It was another great day on Alcatraz. Super thanks to the NPS, and specifically Mike Coffey for being such a great host.

Yosemite Training

Last week BAMRU conducted advanced technical rescue training above Yosemite Valley.

The team built rescue systems in environments with considerable vertical exposure. The training covered rigging methods and techniques, rescue forces, and safety protocols.

Some BAMRU members are also active with YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue), and we greatly benefit from their local knowledge and experience.

BAMRU Service Award

The city of Hillsborough paid a special recognition to BAMRU and the other SAR teams involved in the search for a missing woman on August 27. The award was given at the Hillsborough City Council meeting last week. Representing BAMRU were Tom Grossman, Ethan Frantz, Chris Seffens, James Cutsinger, Kurt Gross, Emily Ghio, Jenna Wiley, and MacRae Linton.

After giving a brief summary of the events of August 27, Hillsborough Police directly congratulated the SAR unit leaders, including Gary Vielbaum (Sheriff's Communications), Pete Nuding (Sheriff's Air Squadron), Gary Bloom (SMCO SAR), Tom Grossman (BAMRU), Lt. Ed Barberini (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office), and Sgt. Joe Sheridan (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office).

The community was very thankful for SAR's involvement in the search and relieved that the missing woman was found with no serious injuries.

BAMRU at SAREX

SAREX is the annual conference for the Search and Rescue community in Northern California. (learn more at http://www.sarex.org) Last weekend's SAREX conference in San Francisco had over 600 attendees. BAMRU was able to supply eight instructors and taught five sessions at the conference, with topics including technical rescue, medical care, rescue gear, mapping and web infrastructure.

Technical Rescue Training

BAMRU completed a basic technical training last weekend. The two days of training included practice operating high-angle rescue with high-angle redirect, team communications and commands, anchor systems, and the high angle rescue tripod.

Special thanks to Ethan Frantz and the instructors for an awesome weekend. Also, thank you to the National Park Service for their participation and assistance, and to Marin SAR for bringing SAR2 and the rescue tripod.

BAMRU in Ireland

BAMRU's Shannon Lucas has returned from a trip to Ireland where she had the opportunity to meet and train with the Sligo Mountain Rescue Team. (find them online at http://sligoleitrimmrt.ie) It was a fun and educational visit, and we are grateful for their warm hospitality.

National Award for Chang

BAMRU proudly congratulates John Chang on his award for Outstanding Contribution to the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA). John received the award Friday at the 2010 MRA Spring Conference in Juneau, Alaska. He was presented the award by the President of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), Dan Hourihan. John's list of accomplishments and contributions are truly outstanding. Humble as he is, John has earned this recognition for all he has done for BAMRU and the MRA.

Congratulations John!

Navigation / Tracking Training

Last weekend BAMRU conducted Navigation and Tracking exercises on the beautiful Milagra Ridge and Huddart Park in San Mateo County. We had 16 people from BAMRU and were joined by a park ranger from the GGNRA. During the training we covered navigation using GPS and compass coordinates, and conducted tracking exercises over various types of ground.

Wilderness Medicine at Stanford

Yesterday BAMRU presented to the Stanford Wilderness Medicine Class with an overview of various aspects of mountain search and rescue. The first part of the class included lecture with hands on class room sessions. The second session covers practical stations focusing on patient packaging and carry outs. Hats off to BAMRU's eight instructors for training and building relationships with our Wilderness Medicine community.

MRA Recertification at Malibu

These past couple weeks, BAMRU has focused on the annual Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) Recertification, this year held on March 6th at Malibu Creek State Park in Malibu, Ca. The Malibu Recert concerned the areas of tracking, ELT's, medical, grid search technique, and incident command execution.  On all accounts, the event was a huge success; BAMRU attended the event on the heels of the mutual aid response to locate a missing snowshoe'er in the Castle Peak area near Truckee, Ca.



In the week preceding the recert, BAMRU held its refresher courses at the Monte Bello and Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserves, in San Mateo County. The extremely foggy weather provided real world conditions to practice locating ELT's. Here are some pictures from the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve:



BAMRU sends special thanks to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Communications Unit. Six of their top-notch personnel, along with their state-of-the-art communications van, joined us at the MRA recert and the training. BAMRU is grateful for their participation and support.