CAP Talk

Operations => Emergency Services & Operations => Topic started by: sardak on November 14, 2009, 05:53:32 AM

Title: NIMS SAR Typing Update - Review Coming Soon?
Post by: sardak on November 14, 2009, 05:53:32 AM
Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...FEMA created within the NIMS, resource typing and job titles (now called credentialing) for emergency responders, including SAR. While there were complaints from most of the responder disciplines, the most opposition to what FEMA had done came from the SAR community, particularly volunteers. FEMA appointed working groups in each discipline to review the typing and credentialing as part of the whole evolution of the NIMS, the NRP and the NRF. The SAR Working Group (SARWG) is divided into Canine, Land, Urban and Water/Helo subgroups.

In January 2008, the rewrites of the SAR documents by the SARWG were sent to "stakeholders" for review. The stakeholders heard nothing from FEMA or the SARWG until February 2009. At that time the stakeholders received notice that the SARWG had reworked the typing and credentialing based on the stakeholder inputs. The revised documents would go out for public comment "shortly." In April, I asked FEMA when "shortly" would be. I was told "no one knows" because the system for public comment had changed. The Office of Management and Budget had to review the documents first.

Two weeks ago the SARWG had its first face-to-face meeting since 2008. The group was told by FEMA that its reworked documents would go out for public comment "soon." The problem is that the documents going out for public comment are the original versions reviewed by the stakeholders in January 2008, not the revisions based on stakeholder comments.

So sometime "soon" the first revision, not the second revision, of the SAR typing and credentialing will be posted on the Internet for public comment. Notice of their posting will be published in the Federal Register (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/), a publication that I'm sure everyone reads daily.

The documents will be posted at http://www.regulations.gov

The existing typed resources of Air Search Team, Air Reconnaissance and Radio Direction Finding Team have been dropped from the first and second revisions. Cave and Mine Rescue have been dropped in the second revision. The reason is that these resources are not what FEMA considers Tier I resources, which are those requested and deployed through EMAC and other interstate mutual aid agreements.

Wilderness SAR has become Land SAR. The different types are based on the ruggedness/steepness of the terrain in which the five person crew can operate. Rescue is limited to evacuation and carry-out in low angle terrain. For technical and high angle rescue, Mountain /Technical SAR Teams take over from Land SAR teams.

The federal ESF-9 on SAR is also being rewritten by the National SAR Committee working with the SARWG. The categories will be Land SAR, Waterborne SAR and Urban SAR. Air SAR will not be a category since it essentially operates to support the other three in national scope incidents.

There is one glimmer of possible hope and reason for the future. The new Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) at FEMA (http://www.fema.gov/about/divisions/npd.shtm), a position which reports directly to the head of FEMA, is Tim Manning. He has a background in volunteer SAR as a member of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council and a New Mexico State SAR Coordinator. NIMS, the NRF, resource typing and credentialing all come under Tim's directorate.

Mike
Title: Re: NIMS SAR Typing Update - Review Coming Soon?
Post by: RiverAux on November 14, 2009, 04:03:26 PM
Did they say why they weren't going to put out the most current version for review?
Title: Re: NIMS SAR Typing Update - Review Coming Soon?
Post by: sardak on November 15, 2009, 03:14:11 PM
Because someone in the government decided the correct process wasn't followed the first time.

Mike