Re: Re: Dead/Alive -TEVIS RESCUE Part 2

["Kirsten Price" <splash@dakotacom.net>]

I am sure that some folks are making some assumptions about availability of
emergency services (someone mentioned "just call 911"... which of course is
simply not available in many rural areas). I have lived in extremely rural
areas and help is often very difficult to get quickly.  However, there is
always *some* kind of organized effort, a number to call... someone to
contact.

However, I still think it is reasonable to expect ride management to at
least know what services are available, how to notify the appropriate
people, and have a mechanism for distributing that information to riders and
crew or anyone else who needs that information.  This is not about having
helicopters and emergency personnel standing by at every ride.  It is about
the availability of information and the responsibility of *someone* to
distribute that information.  When you have an organized event such as an
endurance ride, it is not much of a reach to anticipate various types of
emergency situations that  will probably arise for both horses and people.
It seems that collecting information about what emergency services are
available, including the most efficient method of contacting those people
AND notifying them that the event is taking place as well as the kind of
accidents or injuries that can occur... well, this simply doesn't seem to be
an unreasonable thing to ask of ride management for any ride.

Now, perhaps all of this was actually in place at Tevis (couldn't tell you
since I wasn't there myself). However, it does appear that there was some
kind of a communication failure at minimum and THAT can at least be turned
into a learning experience in and of itself.  Accidents happen.  By
definition, they are unexpected.  But that doesn't mean that they can't be
anticipated and that we don't need to plan for them as best we can.  I think
that is all that most of us are asking for.

Kirsten
Tucson, AZ

----- Original Message -----
From: Duncan Fletcher <dfletche@gte.net>
To: Ridecamp <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2000 7:52 AM
Subject: RC: Re: Dead/Alive -TEVIS RESCUE Part 2


> The following comments come from someone who has been involved in Search
and
> Rescue and lives in a semi-rural area 1 hour (assuming no traffic) from
> downtown Seattle.
>
> There is a lot of false urban assumptions in much of this thread. Rural
> areas do not have the services that city folk are used to. Most (area
wise)
> of King and Snohomish County (Seattle and Everett) are outside the
> jurisidiction of any fire (ambulance) district: US Forest Service, State
DNR
> land, large timber company holdings. And more than half of the rest (again
> based on area) have fire and ambulance services that are volunteer. They
are
> at home living a life when their pager goes off, not sitting in a fire
hall.
> And at most they are emts - some are first responders. The paramedics
(which
> are paid) are based at the hospital which could be as much as 2 hours away
> or even more. Local fire districts will respond to out of jurisdiction
> calls, but they aren't going to beat their equipment to death going up
some
> barely passable Forest Service Road and they will not hike up a trail to
get
> you. They leave that for Search and Rescue which is under the jurisdiction
> of the county sheriff.
>
> Search and Rescue is also based on volunteers, and unlike the volunteer
> ambulance folks, they are not necessarily even in town when their pager
goes
> off - they may be at work, at the supermarket, etc. It takes a minimum
> several hours to assemble a search a team. Some rural counties have
limited
> volunteer resources which means they will contact the state to notify
other
> counties for help. That means some of the help may have a 4 hour drive
> assuming they are home.
>
> I have been a member of a mounted SAR unit. It should also be pointed out
> that these folks pay for the priviledge of bailing people of trouble - pay
> for their own pager, gasoline, part of their training. If you go into the
> back country, you should be carrying the essentials: that includes a map
and
> compass and the ability to use them. Being in an endurance race does not
> exempt you from that responsibility.
>
> I rather doubt that every county in Washington has helicopters - some do.
> They have some rather severe limitations.
>
> In terms of rescuing horses, there is no unit that has any special
training
> in horse rescue - there are a few in other parts of the country. The
mounted
> unit was involved in one horse rescue, but it was a seat of the pants
> operation.
>
> While I am not real familiar with the Tevis, I believe it is a point to
> point (as opposed to confined loops) race of 100 miles. Some of it, I
> believe, goes through designated Wilderness were there are no roads are
> restrictions on the use of mechanical equipment. I assume it passes
through
> several different jurisdictions.
>
> Duncan Fletcher
> dfletche@gte.net
>
>
>
>
>
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