From the archives

At a training at Crocker Cirque, Coby blows on an ember that was created with his site built bow drill.


Using a bow drill Coby creates enough friction to make some serious smoke.


Glenn and Dennis put tension on the line during an anchor training at the C.V. outdoor center at the Northstar EMS conference in 2005.


Glenn snapped this image of the Helo hoisting the patient off Cranberry Peak in Late Nov. A crew of about 10 spent the night in 0 degree weather with the patient until the National Guard arrived at first light to evacuate the patient.


Ian and Jodi have a tender moment at a rope training.


Night ops at smalls falls training with Glenn. Steep angle lifts can be more dangerous than high angle raises.


Ian tests the anchor at the C.V. outdoor center.


Fred, Barry and Steve concentrate on a projected movie clip at the avalanche training at K.F.D. in early 2008.


Teamwork, sweat equity and 3:1 mechanical advantage raise the litter at a training.



An instructor from MDI SAR talks about rescue gear at the EMS conference in C.V.



Barry is relieved when life flight takes off with the patient from a rescue on the A.T. in Lexington.

12-10-08 Christmas Party!

FSAR Meeting Reminder
Wednesday December 10, 2008
6:30 p.m.
Christmas Party (and rescue scenario training)!

What do I need to do?
•Everyone brings food to share, something fancy or a bag of chips!

•Go through your gear and pick a recycled outdoor piece of gear that you no longer use but might be of use to someone else.

•Wrap it.

We’ll exchange gifts and eat.

Steve has a fun survival quiz and a table talk scenario.

See you there!

Man Tracking Class with Coby Leighton 11-8-08

KINGFIELD--How do you find and follow the trail of a missing person in the woods? Thirteen people, from all walks of life, volunteered part of their weekend to learn the basics of ‘man tracking’ at the Kingfield Fire Department this past Saturday. “Everyone leaves a trail,” said instructor Coby Leighton. “Your job as a tracker is to look for things that are out of place.”

In the classroom, students learned about the 12 major ‘pressure releases’ that indicate speed, direction and even the behavior of the missing person. After an hour of ‘theory’ indoors, participants hit the dirt to ‘learn-by-doing’ how to identify, read, and follow a track. Working in teams of 4 in a light drizzle, participants got a taste of real tracking by trying to follow a trail that Leighton had made 2 hours earlier. Teams made slow progress at first, taking 45 minutes to cover about 50 feet. The wet conditions in the woods caused the ground to spring back, leaving a very faint trail for all but the most observant tracker.

Steve Yates, president of Franklin Search & Rescue, who hosted the event commented, “You need to be extremely observant to pick up the subtleties left in a track; some of these people clearly have an aptitude for this stuff.” Indeed, some students thought nothing of getting down on all fours and crawling along the ground to better see the impressions. Participant Ana Rothschild of New Portland said, “I can see tracking requires a different level of focus and awareness, to become good at this would require a lot of time.”

Reflecting on the training, Jim Logan of Freeman said, “We learned how easy it is to miss the correct clues and follow false ones, and also how very easy it is to damage the evidence in an area. Still, we did a good job of overcoming mistakes and bringing the mission to a successful conclusion.” In the end, teams followed the track for about 100 yards where they found the apple marking the end of Leighton' trail. In response to the challenging activity, FSAR member James Katchem said, “If anyone gets lost on the beach…call me!”

Man-Tracking
For Search and Rescue

November 8, 2008
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Kingfield Fire Station
Cost: free
Sponsor: Franklin Search & Rescue
Instructor: Coby Leighton

How do you find and follow the trail of a lost or missing person in the woods?

This awareness level ‘man tracking’ training is based on the techniques taught at the ‘Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School’. Participants will begin with classroom discussion covering tracking basics such as: major pressure releases, tracking teams, tracking sticks, track packs, sign-cutting and compression tracking. The class will then move outside for a few hours where we will practice new skills and follow some real tracks in a lost-person scenario.

All levels of experience are welcome to participate in this training.


RSVP: mitman@hughes.net

Bigelow Mountain Rescue 10-11-08

Just before 3 p.m. on Oct. 11, 2008, a cell phone call was received by Franklin Dispatch for an injured 17 year old male who had a possible fractured ankle on Bigelow Mountain. Carabassett FD, Eustis FD, New Portland FD and Franklin SAR all responded for a total of about 30 people. Initially, the first medical team made contact with the patient on the Fire Warden's trail and provided primary care. When carry-out support arrived, the patient was carried in a litter approximately 2 miles to a waiting ambulance at the trail head on the Stratton Brook Pond Road. The operation on the hiking trail was steep at times and ropes were used to safely belay the patient in the litter. When the group arrived at the trail head, Carabasset FD's 8WD 'Argo' was used to transport the patient for the last 1/4 mile to the ambulance. Team members were delighted to discover that New Portland FD and Kingfield FD auxiliaries had arrived with hot meals and drinks to nourish the rescuers. Incident commander Pete B. (Northstar) was amazed that this many volunteers were able to respond in the middle of a holiday weekend. He wanted to thank all who helped make this a successful rescue.

Incident Commander Pete B. (Northstar)

Bob shuttles Becky to the trail head in CVFD's 8WD Argo

Some of the FSAR members who responded.

NorthStar's Smalls Falls Training Sept. 21 2008

Instructor D.K. gives a safety briefing before a day of multi-level rope rescue training at Small Falls in Madrid, Maine. Participants included NorthStar members, local fire departments and Franklin SAR.

Students rig a litter and ropes for a mechanical advantage raise.





Many rescue agencies in this part of Maine open their training up to other groups whenever possible because cross-training makes us more familiar with each other, creates a common knowledge base and is much more fun!

Some of FSAR's members at a rescue training this past spring in Carabassett Valley, Maine.