NZLSAR News
Volume 2 Issue 2 April 1996
Pareora Gorge Rescue
Early in the afternoon of Sunday 17 December three men in their early to mid twenties entered the upper Pareora gorge above the middle waterfall via a side creek. The Pareora river supplies Timaru with its water. Part of the reason for being there was training for the Coast to Coast. One member of the party who had been in the gorge several times before, followed their usual procedure and jumped 6 or 7 metres down the middle waterfall jumping out far enough to clear the vortex at its base and be carried down by the river to a calmer pool. The river flow was about three times above normal. Looking back he noticed the second member of the party on his first trip through was caught in the vortex at the base of the fall. The third member had not jumped and threw down a log to assist the trapped person. Despite this he was unable to extract himself. The first member stayed to help if possible while the third person retraced the parties route in going to call for help. The first person observed the trapped person being swept around and sucked down from time to time, eventually not resurfacing. Instead of continuing downstream and over the next waterfall he climbed out of the river on the true right but was unable to extricate himself from the gorge due to the severity of the almost vertical cliffs.
The Police interpreted the survivors report to mean that the trapped person was in the pool above the Timaru water
supply intake dam at the entrance to the gorge and proceeded on their own as for a Class I search. They called a St Johns ambulance and later two volunteer divers and an Iroquois helicopter. By the time the helicopter arrived at the road end it was clear that the accident site was further up the valley. The Police Search Controller tasked the helicopter pilot, who proceeded to search and was able to recover the first member of the party from his perch on the cliff above the fatal pool. This person was beginning to suffer from hypothermia. A party of three were then flown in still not tasked by a Field Search Controller to attempt to recover the lost person. The weather was bad and light deteriorating. This group was not capable of working safely in the area concerned and fortunately were able to be brought back out soon after. By now the incident had been raised to a Class II and the FSC was on site. He declined a further request to attempt a rescue that night due to the weather conditions, failing light and a lack of technical mountaineering expertise.
On Monday 18 December a full scale rescue attempt was made despite the river now being around 5 times above normal. Searchers were winched in by Iroquois to the top of the middle waterfall and below the lower waterfall as well as dispatched up river on foot. The body was located in the vortex at the base of the middle waterfall but due to the water pressure was unable to be recovered.
The body being in the immediate catchment of the Timaru City water supply placed great urgency on its recovery. Consequently the RNZAF generously and justifiably agreed to provide support later in the week. The site was in an extremely narrow and rugged section of the gorge and required the full winching capabilities of an Iroquois helicopter. By Friday the river was down to about twice its normal flow and with threatening weather forecasts a further attempt was made. The pool where the body had been seen on Monday was concentrated on and by noon the divers reported they had found the body but on closer examination this turned out to be an animal carcase. Shortly after the body was located in the next pool down under a ledge and about eight metres below the surface. In retrospect the operation should have been Class II throughout and it is extremely fortunate that while Class I no further mishaps occurred.
Summary and comments
Gordon Hasell
NZLSAR Land SAR Adviser
South Canterbury District
Communications SubCommittee (CSC) News
The CSC has been receiving frequent requests for comment on the replacement of radios, fund-raising for
the purchase of new radios and general information regarding the direction of communications for SAR. The following comments are therefore provided to assist people make informed decisions.
The CSC has similar concerns to those raised and for this reason a working party was formed to look at the future of radios in the land SAR environment. This group formed from within the CSC includes a representative of the Police as well as the National Field Officer. It would be my recommendation not to proceed with proposals to purchase new radios until the recommendations from the working party have been submitted and approved. The issues cover more than the ES Band. Technology is advancing rapidly and there are many changes in the wind that could provide a better solution to the future of SAR communications (including radio communications).
The brief for the working party covers all forms of communications not just radio communications in the form we currently use.
The issue of frequency charges has yet to be finalised and anyone purchasing radios that are not compatible with the overall plan may find they have expensive license fees to pay on an annual basis.
I believe that changes to the existing system will only occur slowly in the initial stages but once direction is determined and approved, changes could be made relatively quickly. Having said this I also believe that in many areas the HF radios will be around for many years.
With the changes that are occurring in the SAR environment it is likely that people will be required to support teams in other Districts or areas during large operations. When this happens it will be essential for communications to be compatible. A team arriving with radios that cannot communicate with the base station could compromise the operation.
In respect to the ES Band, (this is where VHF emergency services are moving to) we can expect a gradual shift to the new band but the changes may vary from area to area depending on their needs and their existing communications systems. For example in areas where there is a strong AREC presence a change may not be required for some time. Other areas working close to the Department of Conservation may find the ES Band the way to go.
The CSC and the working party are working closely with Paul Dale in DoC to keep up to date with the ES Band changes from DoC’s point of view.
I hope this helps you out. I don’t want to pre-empt the work being done by the working party but I believe it is important to understand the issues ahead of us and hopefully we can come out at the end with a solution we can all have confidence in
Graham Thorp
CSC Chairman
NZLSAR Awards
The NZLSAR Committee at its recent meeting had much pleasure in approving the Auckland District Committee’s nomination of Merv Passau and Jim Rowe for the NZLSAR Award. I include the full account contained in the supporting paper as it seems too significant to abridge it in any way.
Merv Passau
Merv has been involved in AREC and SAR for at least thirty years and he is one of those people who are always in the background providing the backup and support to ensure the system works smoothly. In addition Merv has been very innovative in his thinking and was instrumental in developing the cross-band repeater system which enabled Auckland SAR to do away with the TR103 and TR105 HF sets and use VHF only. Merv built the Mark 1 lunchbox repeater. As well he was very involved with building, installing and maintaining fixed remote repeaters. It was only through his negotiating with the territorial authorities that a remote repeater for SAR was installed on Mt Kokohunui in the northern Hunuas. Merv was associated with installation of remote repeaters in Northland and at the RCC as well as being a member of the Auckland District SAR Committee for a number of years.
Jim Rowe
Jim first started with AREC and SAR in Whakatane in 1969 and spent six years there before moving to Auckland some twenty years ago. This interest continued upon arriving in Auckland through to the present time. Jim was always available to coordinate the AREC people on any operation or exercise. It was said that he was always there when required. Rather than be a one man band he always encouraged new people to become radio operators for SAR and he put a lot of time and effort ensuring they were properly trained and tested. Jim was also innovative and he developed the battery pole for the latest version of the portable cross band repeater system. This is a much simpler "idiot proof" system that anybody can assemble in the field. Jim has also been a member of the Auckland District SAR Committee for the last five years.
To Merv and Jim, congratulations and many thanks for the volunteer work over so many years
Committee News
As well as approving the two Awards mentioned above, the Committee meeting agenda included the following items:
Identity Cards : Two papers were presented outlining the advantages or otherwise of Advisers and others being issued with a NZLSAR ID card.
Business Plan : The five year work forecasts and budget requirements for the next financial year need to be finalised by some of the SubCommittees. Upon receipt these will be incorporated into the Plan and circulated one more time amongst the Committee. Following their approval it will then will be ready for public perusal. The intention is to look forward over the next five years, assess what work needs to be done, estimate the cost and give a clear indication of where the organisation is going.
Region Four Representative Resignation The resignation of Russel Tucker as the Region Four Representative was accepted with regret. With changing work requirements and a heavy local SAR load, Russell found it difficult to give time and consideration to national affairs. The Committee’s loss of his expertise will surely be the Nelson Districts gain. Region Four is now in the process of selecting a new Representative and hopefully the person will be known in time for the NZLSAR AGM and Committee meeting on Saturday 24 August
P130 Updates : John Meads tabled the latest P130 (the form used by the Police for the collection of data on SAR incidents). To date this financial year there have been a total of 246 Class I and II land SAR incidents. Districts such as Canterbury Rural and Otago with 44 incidents each have been very busy. Nelson with 27, West Coast 23 Tokoroa 21 and Hutt with 18 are also obviously being kept on their toes.
Emergency Management Training Proposal : The Committee has agreed to make a case for funding sufficient that over the next five years a strong nucleus of SAR participants, both volunteers and Police will have been introduce to EML courses. The courses envisaged are Managing Search Operations (MSO) and will be for Field Controllers, Advisers and SAR Sergeants. Track and Clue Awareness will be for these people plus Police Liaison Officer’s Team Leaders and as many Team Members as we can afford.
NZLSAR Members on non SAR activities Concern was expressed that there had been several instances of NZLSAR volunteers being asked to search for the objects of a crime. Where it may be a body the Committee felt that provided the situation is spelt out to the searcher at the time of the initial request for assistance, it should be left to the individual to decide. Where the search is for a suspect, the proceeds of a robbery or a weapon, even more care is required in informing searchers of the situation. Employers may be reluctant to have their employees away from work to perform what they perceive as "Police work" and the possibility of later retaliatory action by an aggrieved criminal is a possibility. Prior consultation with your local Police SAR Officer, perhaps a review of the District SAR Plan may be required. Certainly there must be no recrimination for those who decline to help.under these circumstances
Track and Clue Awareness Courses
Search performance can mean the difference between life and death. Therefore searchers need to upgrade traditional skills and learn new ones.
Track and clue awareness training is a key skill that can improve the effectiveness of search teams by as much as 50-70% depending on their initial skill level
Emergency Management has run a number of TCA courses with some very positive responses.
I can think of three lives that may have been saved if we had known more about track and clue awareness
I’ll never look at the ground and vegetation in the same way again.
I now feel I can be 100% more effective in feeding information back to the Field Controller.
The courses can only introduce track and clue awareness and a person is certainly not a tracker at the end of the course. However participants learn an appreciation for detailed observation especially people with a lot of outdoor experience.
It is vital that SAR Advisers and Field Controllers attend the course so they understand how track and clue aware searchers can be best utilised.
A number of courses are currently being run around New Zealand if people wish to observe or get independent feed back.
A bit of tracking humour to finish. A Mexican tried to cross the US Border with cow hooves attached to his feet. He was caught by trackers as cows don’t walk on just two feet.
Ross Gordon
Emergency Management Limited
Editors Comments
To Gordon and Graham, thanks very much for your articles. To those who promised to write a piece and then the pressure of work intervened, I haven’t forgotten you!. The deadline for copy for the June issue of NZLSAR News is Friday 24 May and all articles are welcome.
Regards, John P Tristram
Bibliography
There are a number of information sources, produced both here and overseas, available around the country. Here is a list of some of this written work, a brief description of it and where it can be obtained.
Manuals and Papers
Unless noted, all these can be obtained upon request to the NZLSAR National Field Officer.
Land Search and Rescue. - This manual by NZLSAR is a "broadbrush" picture of the New Zealand land SAR system.
Search is an Emergency*. - This expose introduces some very innovative search techniques such as Mattson consensus, Possibility of Area (POA), Probability of Detection (POD), the importance of track and clue awareness and much more.
Managing Risk in the Outdoor Activities# - Manual 27 by the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council is how to mitigate the risk inherent in the outdoors
A guide to the Internet. - This paper by Murray Cullen is an explanation on the mysteries of the Internet in very simple terms.
District Committee Rules. - A set of rules by lawyer Roger Barrowclough for the setting up of a District Committee.
Local Committee Rules - A set of rules by lawyer Roger Barrowclough for the setting up of a Local Committee. Both these sets of Rules, if implemented, will allow charitable status under the NZLSAR umbrella.
Suggested Guidelines and Procedures For NZLSAR District Committees. - Written by John Tristram these are a "Plain English" addition to the formal District Rules.
Use of Aircraft - Operating Instructions. - A booklet put out by the NZ Police for the instruction in the use of aircraft.
Taming time. - An article from the Emergency magazine on how to fit everything into a busy day and still keep your partner happy.
Search Dog merits and an explanation of the RCMP in SAR. - This series of articles taken from the Canadian Police Service magazine is an interesting insight into the merits of various types of search dogs, the valuable resource they can be. The second paper tells how the Canadian SAR system is set up and the importance of volunteers.
SAR Where You Fit In - A paper by the Wellington Victoria University and taken from the Internet. This a light hearted, humorous if a little crude rave on being involved at ground level on a search.
Volunteers at the Crossroad, Rural EMS Problems and Solutions - These two articles from the magazine Emergency deal with problems and suggest solutions for recruiting, training, motivating and retaining volunteers. Although it is directed to medical personnel it is equally relevant to land SAR volunteers.
OSH information - A number of papers on this subject have been written and are available
Analysis of Lost Person Behavior - This paper by William G Syrotuck is an analysis of the data base of information gained from lost people behavior from two American States. While some of the activites being persued by the lost people are not relevant to NZ, peoples reactions to being lost are universal so it is a helpful aid to understanding and finding a missing party.
* Obtainable from Emergency Management Limited 15 Jackson Street Methven
03-302-8840
# Obtainable from New Zealand Mountain Safety Council PO Box 6027 Thorndon Wellington
04-385-7162