Pathfindersonline

Emergency Preparness at local and large camporees.
Do any of you have in place a written policy for evacuation in an emergency situation that you are willing to share? This includes rainstroms, hurricanes, toronadoes, or things of this sort.

_________________
E. Lockett
MG - PLA - PIA
South Atlantic Conf

I can't say that we have anything specific written up in the manual. However, I will say, last time we went to Oshkosh in 2004, one of my staff members was experienced storm chaser. Before we ever got off the bus, I took him aside and said, your job number 1, first and foremost; look at the terrain, the shelter, watch the weather. Come to me with a plan on how we handle it if things get bad.

I hope that helps at least a little.

Your Brother in Christ,
Keith

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Keith A. Hannah Jr.
Thankfully serving God as a Master Guide and Area Coordinator in the Indiana Conference.

We are the clay and You are our Potter; we are all the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8

Really, preparing for an emergency will need to be adjusted for each location. But a few major considerations should be...

Where is the nearest shelter? What will it protect us from?
What is the weather forecasted to be like? What do we need to bring to be comfortable in camp?
What are the potential hazards?
-Is there a possibility of Forest Fire? If so, what are our escape routes?
-Is there a possibility of Flooding? If so, how soon do we have to leave to be safe?
-Is there a possibility of Tornado's/High Winds? Where can we go for shelter?
-etc, etc, etc.....

Basically, you need to think about anything and everything that can go wrong. And then, once you have identified those hazards, you need to identify what you can do to prevent those hazards from harming you or your pathfinders. Also, you need to identify any ways that you can help prevent those hazards. (ie. Forest Fires)

Be ready for anything...

_________________
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze”
Isaiah 43:1-3

Thank you! In your club, conference or area do you have any written procedure for clearing a camp site in the case of say a severe rainstorm that just came up?

_________________
E. Lockett
MG - PLA - PIA
South Atlantic Conf

When we have camporee, we always have a plan in case of inclement weather. If there is dangerous weather, they sound a siren (or air horn) and each club goes to their designated spot. We have camporee at the conference youth camp, so we have buildings to go to. Part of the clubs go to the gym, some go to the basement of the Cafeteria and some go to (or at least used to go to) the lodge on the other side of the lake.

If there is no danger from a lot of rain other than getting wet, we stick it out. However, if it were going to flood, we'd get outta there!

_________________
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze”
Isaiah 43:1-3

Obviously there have been some great suggestions given above, the only one that I might have is that you actually write them down in some form of an Operational Guideline or something like that so that the entire conference is on the same page and is well aware of what to do in case of an emergency!

_________________
OUTDOORS ROCK!!!

Explorer Counselor
Master Guide

I appreciate the comment regarding emergency preparedness. However, as we all know, emergencies come in a variety of forms. Does anyone have a plan that deals with issues such as death or life threatening injury while camping or other activity (who notifies parents, pastors, etc), who will assume leadership (the Director may not be the most qualified), who will answer questions from the press if there are any, strategies to help the other Pathfinders cope in the immediate term, who is designated to deal with the emergency and who is designated to deal with the Pathfinders and Staff. What emergency first aid items are in your kit? Epinephrine pens? (Serious, life-threatening kit - not just gauze and antibiotic ointment) Do you have all of your staff trained in CPR? What is the plan if 911 services are not readily available or there is no phone service, such as remote locations. In a death or life-threatening injury, will the church provide post-traumatic counselors?

Is anyone aware of other organizations (BSA?) that already have a plan such as this?

Each club, and conference has a plan that is followed for emergencies. For the most well written (due to necessity, and number of people), contact the Center for Youth Evangelism (located at Andrews University). They put on the Oshkosh camporees.

The basic plan (meaning anyone who reads this can take it and adapt it to their club, resources, and/or other needs) we use is as follows:

*List of medical personnel: (Great! My club has a MD and 2-3 state licensed EMS personnel)

*Leadership: (Usually the director. The mitigate all sorts of issues all the time. If they don't have medical knowledge, they appoint somebody who does. If somebody more qualified is available/needed, that person is put into place (if needed).

*Press: (a designated staff member, for a club event; a designated conference officer, for any conference, union, division events)

*Strategies for children: (Counselors take care of it. Each has their own way. If someone doesn't have a way, they get someone to help them.)

*Emergency VS. the Club: (the Incident Commander oversees all parts of the incident. They designate a club leader and a incident leader. However, usually you can separate the club from the incident to a greater extent. Usually our club medical people and director (if around) or counselor take initial control of an incident. Once more direct medical arrives or structured leadership is set up, the club & incident are split to take their separate courses.)

*First-Aid Kit: (Because this is America (where I'm living and working with Pathfinders right now), our club first aid kit is limited. We have the basic first aid equipment. Any epinephrine is supplied by the parents of the child and carried with the counselor. Our EMS people often bring their own kits, but those are used based on the "scope of practice" statute(s) of our state and their own liability (the club is not liable for their care, etc). Many of our staff, but not all, are trained in CPR (we also have nurses on our staff). I'd love to make all of our staff have CPR though. It certainly is a benefit.)

*No 911: (Wilderness EMS practices are automatically used by my club when EMS will take time to get to our location. A knowledgeable staff with wilderness experience is usually tasked to get to where help can be summoned. I also am an Amateur Radio operator. I will often carry a radio with me (FCC allows us to make contact by any means during an emergency).

*Post-traumatic counseling: (I have no clue. But I'm guessing that it is most certainly available, either directly through the church or via church insurance)

I hope that this is helpful. To develop your own club's Emergency Preparedness OGs/OPs (Operational Guidelines/Procedures), check out the NIMS system by FEMA here and the ICS system (which is part of NIMS) here.

veteranpathfinder,
That is immensely useful information. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Of course you have raised two other questions: please tell me more about wilderness EMS and portable amateur radio.

I'll start with amateur radio:

Amateur radio is unrealized, unknown, and under appreciated pioneering part of most radio advances. It can serve as anything from being simple "walkie talkie" conversation (somebody will probably shoot me for that metaphor) to emergency communications for disasters (Hurricane Katrina comes to mind, where many government agencies ended up needing "ham" radio for communications at one point) to events communication (ranging in complexity). The portability aspect is truly almost limitless. There are base stations that don't move at all. However, "mobile command" units have been created in semi-trailers using these base units with generators and other long-term equipment. I have a "mobile rig" set up in my car that transmits a notable distance (though not nearly as far as a base unit). I also have a hand-held unit that I often carry with me on various events.

Amateur radio is set up using frequencies, instead of designated channels (though all the channels used on other radios operate on various frequencies). You must have a federally issued license to operate in ham frequencies. I will let the ranger station know if I'm carrying my radio with me, AND inform them that I know the proper rules for communicating via my privileges on their frequency or frequencies. The rest is like talking to 911 on the phone in an emergency.

Ultimately, I guess I'd have to ask you to be more specific about your interest in amateur radio

Now, I'll answer your question about wilderness EMS.

Wilderness EMS is actually not much different than standard EMS. The difference is in the time can take for local EMS units to arrive and the resources to work in a wilderness setting.


EMS Response Time: Because you are out in the wilderness, it can take much more time for proper EMS people to respond and arrive at your location. Rangers can often be there quickly, but may only have a few extra resources and roughly the same skill sets that you have. If you are out in the back country, it can take hours or even days for rangers or other rescue personnel to arrive to aid you. Additionally, if you don't have a way to communicate with those who can help, then somebody has to go get that help, which takes time. THEREFORE, you need to know how to use natural resources to supplement the supplies you carried in with you. (Things such as making a stretcher from branches and rope, etc. are good illustrations for using natural resources for a wilderness emergency.)

Another consideration is how to deal with injuries in the wilderness. At first, nothing changes. You still check out the victim, then begin initial treatment. Here, wilderness EMS begins to diverge from standard EMS more noticeably. Because of the extended time with the victim, you must think more about long-term care for that victim, until proper EMS comes. For example, because EMS is days away, I may have to treat frost-bite all by myself.

Again, you'll have to be a little more specific about what you are trying to learn more about?

I am seeking general knowledge and ideas on topics that, as Director of our club, I think I should know. My efforts so far have revealed very little "official" information on general emergency preparedness. You have been very helpful as I start to formulate a plan. Thank you.

It's my pleasure to help. I ran across a book that might assist with wilderness EMS.
Title: Wilderness first responder : how to recognize, treat, and prevent emergencies in the back country
Author: Tilton, Buck

Ahhh! Book exchange! Then I have one for you: Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzalez. Excellent insights on mental preparedness and survival attitudes.