Rescue volunteers receive field training

Lincoln County is now backed by 15 new certified members of the Search and Rescue Team. Members for the David Thompson and Can Am rescue teams were registered as Level 2 search and rescue technicians, fully qualified to successfully extract a person from danger.

These 15 people tested and passed, a series of rigorous courses and exams required by the National Association For Search and Rescue.

Recently named National Lead Evaluator in October, Susan Ague led candidates through an examination that included medical, CPR and radio classes, as well as 40 hours of training designated by the David Thompson Search & Rescue association.

The final assessment included six stations to test fieldwork knowledge.

Pillars of these stations involved navigation, proper preparation of a 24-hour medical and safety pack, six rope knots, tracking, route searching and area searching. In both search stations, candidates used a combination of search methods learned in previous training stations.

“What this means for the average person,” Ague said, “is if you become lost here in the Lincoln County area, you can be assured there is a fully qualified team ready (to make a successful extraction).”

Ague has been a part of search and rescue efforts since 2006, and currently serves as treasurer as well as lead evaluator for the organization. The David Thompson Search & Rescue association has been in place since 1969, and currently includes 65 members with at least a Level 3 SAR Tech certification.

Ague said it was Sheriff Roby Bowe who initiated the larger groups to be certified. Bowe implied the need for the most professional and resourceful search and rescue crew available, possibly referring back to December when pilot Carl Douglas and passenger John Smith were lost in a plane crash that seemed to disappear into the wilderness near the airport south of Libby. The Beechcraft King Aircraft was found a day-and-a-half after reported.

Libby’s location is also a landmark and excellent source of tourism, drawn from an abundance of nearby outdoor activities. The David Thompson crew already has logged 213.5 hours this year in rescue missions. In January, 120.5 of those hours were spent responding to an injured hiker and an injured snowmobiler on separate calls. April was another month the previously smaller crew endured, locating a missing couple near the Fisher River as well as two runaways lost in the wilderness of the Yaak area.

Libby has become a designated Emergency Care and Safety Institute (ECSI) Education Center, where candidates can be tested and certified as SAR technicians, providing examinations for the Libby, Troy and Yaak area as well as the international Canada-American Search and Rescue Association.

The evaluation process occurs on a yearly alternating basis, this years’ focus as training for Level 2 technicians. Next year, members may qualify to upgrade and become certified as Level 1 technicians.

Level 2 technicians make up the rescue team that works as a unit in the field. The upper division is trained as crew leaders, requiring another 36 hours of training and education and a more in-depth medical knowledge.

Eight more individuals already have signed up to take part in another certification process that will take place this fall in Libby.

Technicians certified this year will take part in future annual scenario preparations, swift water training, personal watercraft training and more. More information can be found at the David Thompson Search and Rescue Association website, dtsar.org.