YMCA Camp of Maine, 305 Winthrop Center Rd. Winthrop, ME 04364
$75 Conference Registration
$65 MASAR Certified Team Member
$100 Late Registration (after April 30)
What is included in your registration fee?
- 21 different workshop choices over 3 days
- Comfortable lodging in spacious cabins
- 2 full breakfasts, 2 lunches and 1 dinner
- Free team photo
- Drones for SAR demo
- 2 evening presentations
- a chance to cross-train and network with SAR people from all over Maine
- enjoy the relaxed spacious lakeside campus of the YMCA Camp of Maine
- Option to move in and spend the night on Friday &/or Saturday
MASAR Conference, Friday May 15
BASAR (Basic Search & Rescue) Practical day with Bryan Courtois
BASAR Practical day
Starts 9:00 a.m.
Finishes approximately one hour after “dark”
The BASAR practical day is not really a class but more of a test. It will be administered by MASAR Education Director Bryan Courtois and several assistants.
Prerequisite: In order to participate in the BASAR Practical Day you must have completed all of the BASAR modules either online or with your team. If you did the BASAR online, we will have a record of it. If you did BASAR with your team, you will need documentation to support that. The practical day will consist of a navigation overview covering map and compass, Lat/Lon, and UTM. We will administer the BASAR written exam and then conduct field exercises including day and night navigation, emergency shelters and fires and litter handling.
Team members who successfully pass the test will become BASAR Certified team members.
Bring your ready pack and be prepared to be self-sufficient for the duration of the day.
Candidates wishing to take the end test must register no later than May 1.
If you have questions you can reach Bryan at 207-284-3731 or bryan@pinetreesar.com
Bryan Courtois
Bryan has been involved in SAR work for almost 20 years and is currently President of Pine Tree Search and Rescue and the MASAR Education Director and MASAR Search Team Leader. Bryan is also a Registered Maine Guide
Visual Man Tracking for SAR with Coby Leighton
Friday, May 15 10:30 AM goes to no later than 4 PM
This seminar will be a search scenario on the grounds of the YMCA property, using only visual tracking methods. We will put together all the visual tracking concepts taught by this instructor during previous classes, for a real life search scenario. No prerequisite is necessary as we will do a quick review before the scenario although prior visual tracking classes or experience will be helpful. Students will be broken up into teams with experienced students mixed with beginners. We will spend the day working on finding and following tracks and sign, team movement, communication, navigation, track preservation and interpretation, etc. with the final goal of finding our subject!
No special equipment necessary other than your usual field items.
Dress for rain or shine.
Coby Leighton has been a Licensed Maine Forester since 1996 and a Registered Maine Guide since 2003. He is a Tom Brown's Tracker School graduate including a week long SAR Man Tracking course in 2003 and has assisted at SERE school with Advanced Evasion courses as a Visual Tracker. Coby has been a member of Franklin SAR since 2006 and taught SAR Visual Tracking courses for MASAR in 2007, 2013 and 2014.
Friday May 15, 1900 Evening Presentation: SAR and the 2014 Climbing Season on Denali. By Paul Marcolini
The 2014 climbing season on Denali saw colder temperatures and more major storms than previous years. This presentation will show how SAR is executed on the highest mountain in North America, and discuss injuries, medical incidents, and evacuations from the 2014 season.
Paul Marcolini is a Maine and National Park Service paramedic and has worked for ground, rotor and fixed-wing EMS programs. Paul has over 17 years of experience with Outward Bound, is a member of Franklin Search and Rescue, and is a lead instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates International. For the past eight seasons he has worked as a volunteer climbing ranger for Denali National Park in Alaska. He has taught medical refresher programs for NPS Rangers at Denali, Mt Rainer, and Acadia National Parks. Paul has also presented various topics at International Emergency Medical Conferences in Bolivia, and Vietnam, and presents on wilderness medical and rescue topics for medical schools and residency programs in the Atlantic Region. He is the Quality Improvement Coordinator and ALS instructor for Tri-County EMS, and seasonal guide in New England and Bolivia.
Saturday Morning, May 16, 9 a.m.- 10 a.m. Workshop Choices
Lost Person Behavior – How it all Works! Joclyn Stohl
For search managers, team leaders and basic SAR responders, this program will provide an overview of the categories of missing/overdue subjects, and how behavioral profiles, various sets of statistical data and other interview information support decisions of the likely areas to search. Case review is included.
Bio
Jocelyn Stohl is a retired commander of the Vermont State Police, with 30 years of experience in SAR and having participated in 500+ SAR incidences for lost and missing children, autistics, dementia, mentally disabled, hikers, hunters, walkers, skiers, climbers, despondent and suicides, homicides, accidental deaths, abduction, drowning, vehicle related and missing aircraft. Ms. Stohl is a NASAR instructor and provides continuing SAR education in the areas management, overdue/missing person behavior and various skills sets for the professional SAR responder and personal safety programs. Ms. Stohl is a volunteer certified K9 handler. Currently, she is a executive director for a Vermont Special Investigations Unit and Child Advocacy Center.
Traumatic Brain Injury In The Wilderness Setting - Evie Marcolini, MD
Trauma is one of the most common serious injuries in the wilderness, and traumatic brain injury is one of the deadliest. Evie will discuss the keys to recognizing, assessing and treating a patient with brain injury. She will review different types of traumatic brain injury, and prepare you to recognize the signs and symptoms of someone who needs to get to definitive care fast, as well as those whose rescue can be less time sensitive.
Evie Marcolini is a physician at Yale University School of Medicine, practicing in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, spending most of her time in the neurointensive care unit. Evie also teaches Wilderness Medicine, and has a background working for Outward Bound, which involved taking youth at risk into the woods for month-long expeditions. She has also worked as a ski patroler for several years, as well as paramedic before heading off to medical school. Evie is a member of the Franklin Search and Rescue, and enjoys skiing, rock and ice climbing and mountaineering.
Baxter State Park SAR Update - Ben Woodard, Chief Ranger
BSP Chief Ranger, Ben Woodard will discuss the SAR response plans of Baxter State Park. Topics will include MASAR coverage & training, communications, park evacuation plan, forest fire plan, & interagency response.
Saturday Morning, May 16, 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. Workshop Choices
Ticks, Ticks and More Ticks
Back by popular demand, Dr. Beatrice Szantyr will present the latest news and information on the tick front: current data, protection, prevention, and treatment.
Media Awareness for SAR,
Also, back by popular demand, Steve McCausland will share his 26 years of experience as the spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Steve will discuss effective and some ineffective ways of dealing with the media for SAR personnel.
Critical Incident Stress Management
Critical Incident Stress Management, or CISM, is an intervention protocol developed specifically for dealing with traumatic events. It is a formal, highly structured and professionally recognized process for helping those involved in a critical incident to share their experiences, vent emotions, learn about stress reactions and symptoms and given referral for further help if required. It is not psychotherapy. It is a confidential, voluntary and educative process, sometimes called 'psychological first aid.'
Saturday May 16, 11:30 - 12:30 Workshop Choices
Clue Awareness for SAR By DBAP and the SERE crew.
This workshop will help participants learn how to detect clues in a wilderness setting. This has been a popular workshop MASAR conferences in the past.
This workshop will help participants learn how to detect clues in a wilderness setting. This has been a popular workshop MASAR conferences in the past.
Knots to Know - Paul Marcolini, Melissa Shea and Jim Albert
This workshop will cover basic knots used in SAR. We will divide our knot instruction by use - anchor point knots, knots for joining two ropes and speciality knots. This will be a “hands-on” workshop.
Media Awareness for SAR,
Back by popular demand, Steve McCausland will share his 26 years of experience as the spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Steve will discuss effective and some ineffective ways of dealing with the media for SAR personnel.
May 16, Saturday Afternoon 2-hour sessions 13:30 - 15:30 Workshop Choices
Shelters for Search and Rescue (2 hours)
Have you ever had to get out of the weather in a minute's notice due to Rain, Cold, and/or Wind? This seminar will consist of both a classroom and practical hands-on piece. Participants will be given a scenario, then asked to construct an appropriate shelter (in a limited amount of time) with items from their ready packs and/or additional, supplied materials. Discussion will follow and include the key points of the Basic Search and Rescue (BASAR) module, The overnight bivi and shelters.
Taught by Franklin Search and Rescue members, Barry London, a veteran ski patroller at Sugarloaf and a Master Maine Guide, and Sebastian Tooker, survival school trained and a seasoned outdoorsman. This seminar will encourage discussion and analysis of various short term shelters that provide protection from the elements using limited resources and minimizes environmental impact.
Intro to Slopes Rescue Workshop (2 hours)- Paul Marcolini, Evie Marcolini & Melissa Shea
The slopes rescue workshop will cover a variety of topics involved in basic, non-technical litter raises and lowers. Topics will include: litter packaging, litter management on a variety of slope angles, accessing the patient in steep terrain, equipment use, and rescue systems.
Equine & K-9 These are 2 separate 60-minute workshops offered back to back as one workshop choice for the longer Saturday afternoon (2-hour) extended session.
Horses as Search Partners, an Equine Field Demonstration (60 minutes)
Mounted teams offer several unique advantages in Search and Rescue endeavors. Some of these will be demonstrated by various rider and horse teams. They will show: their full dress and all equipment carried, their capability to search off established trails (bushwhacking), their alertness to detect an unseen person in the brush, their calmness in emotional situations, their willingness to go over/through/around obstacles, and their steadiness to carry an injured person a distance. A variety of horses (Arabians, Fox Trotters, Quarter Horses, Rocky Mountain Horses, Walkers) will be presented to illustrate their usefulness and adaptability in field operations.
The horse has played many important roles in our history as both work animals and reliable companions. Although they have been domestically bred for over 2000 years and have evolved well into our culture, they are nevertheless a prey animal, one that is always on the alert for a predator that could harm it. All of their senses are far more profound than ours, including their sense of smell which can rival that of any canine and a very wide range of vision.
Note: While our horses are well-mannered and well-trained, new situations and/or places can heighten their senses so we ask that no one approach the horses unless permission is granted by the owner.
K-9 A Searcher’s Guide to Search and Rescue Dog Teams (60 min.)
How search and rescue dog teams work can be confusing. What exactly do they do? How are they trained? What do you do if you are a searcher and the dog “finds” you? How do you act around search and rescue dogs or law enforcement dogs that may be at an active search? How do you become a search and rescue dog handler?
This hour long lecture and demonstration session will attempt to answer the common questions that people and searchers have about search and rescue dog teams.
Presented by MESARD.
May 16, Saturday Afternoon, 15:45-16:45 Workshop Choices
Suspension Trauma: Evaluation and Treatment - Paul Marcolini
Suspension injury is defined as a state of shock induced by passive hanging. Suspension in a harness is an accepted and necessary part of ice and rock climbing, caving and mountaineering. In Maine, it is also important in many industrial settings for the construction and maintenance of wind towers, radio towers and smoke stacks. The possibility for suspension injury is possible on any high structure where a harness is part of personal safety equipment. We will discuss the pathophysiology, management and prevention of Suspension Injury including case studies.
Paul Marcolini is a Maine and National Park Service paramedic and has worked for ground, rotor and fixed-wing EMS programs. Paul has over 17 years of experience with Outward Bound, is a member of Franklin Search and Rescue, and is a lead instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates International. For the past eight seasons, he has worked as a volunteer climbing ranger for Denali National Park in Alaska. He has taught medical refresher programs for NPS Rangers at Denali, Mt Rainer, and Acadia National Parks. Paul has also presented various topics at International Emergency Medical Conferences in Bolivia, and Vietnam, and presents on wilderness medical and rescue topics for medical schools and residency programs in the Atlantic Region. He is the Quality Improvement Coordinator and ALS instructor for Tri-County EMS, and seasonal guide in New England and Bolivia.
Awareness and Appreciation of the High Risk of Water Operations, both Planned and Spontaneous with Gabe Gunning
This workshop will introduce novice level providers as well as experienced practitioners to the inherent risks involved in operations which may involve moving water during a training or operational rotation. Participants will be introduced to a brief history of rescue in high-risk water operations through case presentations. This will begin a discussion about the current status of swiftwater rescue and flood response operations in Maine and New Hampshire.
Gabe Gunning: Possessing a lifelong passion for water in all forms is an apt description of Gabe Gunning. With 20 years of whitewater experience, Gabe started on canoes in Northern New England, progressing to navigating the whitewater of the Pacific Northwest in a kayak before eventually returning and again exploring the vast whitewater of northern Appalachia. His introduction to wilderness and rescue medicine started as a professional ski patroller at Sunday River Ski Area 15 years ago. Gabe is currently a paramedic for NorthStar EMS in the greater Franklin County where he teaches various topics in wilderness medicine and technical rescue. He has been an instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates for the past 10 years, and as such has travelled extensively teaching wilderness and rescue medicine courses. Gabe also works on a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) as part of the National Disaster Medical System through US Department of Health and Human Services.
LifeFlight Ground School Instructor: LifeFlight Staff
LifeFlight of Maine is just one part of the statewide emergency healthcare network, or chain of survival, that includes everyone from first responders, dispatchers and paramedics to emergency room nurses and physicians, and specialists at regional medical centers. LifeFlight’s specially trained paramedics and critical care nurses bring intensive care skills and equipment directly to the patient at the scene.
When landing at unprotected landing zones on the sides of highways, fields, or clearings in the woods, safety is paramount.
This workshop will share the resources and training program LifeFlight has developed to assist EMS and public safety agencies in establishing scene landing zones. LifeFlight staff will also discuss the patient types and benefits of bringing critical care medicine to the patient.
Sunday Morning, May 17, 0830-1030 Workshop Choices
(Select the 2-hour short-haul workshop OR select 2 different 60-minute workshops)
Dehydration and Hyponatremia: Water Balance in the Woods - Evie Marcolini and Paul Marcolini (60 minutes) 0830-0930
This workshop will highlight what’s new in Dehydration and Hyponatremia. Paul and Evie will describe best practices of hydration and electrolyte balance for folks in the backcountry, both the rescuer and the person being rescued. We will discuss how to anticipate, assess and treat problems using a simplified algorithm.
Evie Marcolini is a physician at Yale University School of Medicine, practicing in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, spending most of her time in the neurointensive care unit. Evie also teaches Wilderness Medicine, and has a background working for Outward Bound, which involved taking youth at risk into the woods for month-long expeditions. She has also worked as a ski patroler for several years, as well as paramedic before heading off to medical school. Evie is a member of the Franklin Search and Rescue, and enjoys skiing, rock and ice climbing and mountaineering.
Paul Marcolini is a Maine and National Park Service paramedic and has worked for ground, rotor and fixed-wing EMS programs. Paul has over 17 years of experience with Outward Bound, is a member of Franklin Search and Rescue, and is a lead instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates International. For the past eight seasons he has worked as a volunteer climbing ranger for Denali National Park in Alaska. He has taught medical refresher programs for NPS Rangers at Denali, Mt Rainer, and Acadia National Parks. Paul has also presented various topics at International Emergency Medical Conferences in Bolivia, and Vietnam, and presents on wilderness medical and rescue topics for medical schools and residency programs in the Atlantic Region. He is the Quality Improvement Coordinator and ALS instructor for Tri-County EMS, and seasonal guide in New England and Bolivia.
Leadership in the Field - Bob Baribeau MMSAR (60 minutes) 0830-0930
This workshop will consist of a general overview of decision-making and leadership during SAR events.
Bob Baribeau "43 years of climbing and outdoor activity. 20 plus years as a leader of Mahoosuc Mountain Rescue Team and Maine Boy."
Maine Warden Service Annual Review of Maine SAR Cases (60 min.) by Lt. Kevin Adam 0930-1030
Lt. Kevin Adam of the Maine Warden Service will conduct a review of the major SAR cases in the state from the past 12 months.
Lost Person Behavior – How it all Works! (60 min.) Joclyn Stohl 0930-1030
For search managers, team leaders and basic SAR responders, this program will provide an overview of the categories of missing/overdue subjects, and how behavioral profiles, various sets of statistical data and other interview information support decisions of the likely areas to search. Case review is included.
Jocelyn Stohl is a retired commander of the Vermont State Police, with 30 years of experience in SAR and having participated in 500+ SAR incidences for lost and missing children, autistics, dementia, mentally disabled, hikers, hunters, walkers, skiers, climbers, despondent and suicides, homicides, accidental deaths, abduction, drowning, vehicle related and missing aircraft. Ms. Stohl is a NASAR instructor and provides continuing SAR education in the areas management, overdue/missing person behavior and various skills sets for the professional SAR responder and personal safety programs. Ms. Stohl is a volunteer certified K9 handler. Currently, she is a executive director for a Vermont Special Investigations Unit and Child Advocacy Center.
Maine Forest Service Short-Haul Extended Session (2 hours) John Crowley, MFS Lead Pilot 0830-1030
Helicopter short-haul technique was originally researched and developed by Swiss Air Rescue (REGA) in 1966. Short-haul gained popularity in Europe prior to 1970 as an effective rescue technique in mountainous areas. In the early 1980s, short-haul was adopted and modified by a variety of agencies for use in rescue and law enforcement programs in the United States. Helicopter short-haul continues to be an effective tool in meeting safe and efficient operational objectives within these programs.
This workshop will include information on when short-haul technique should be utilized as well as a demonstration of short-haul technique.
Drones & SAR- On Sunday morning after the last scheduled workshop there will be a 30 minute demo using drones for SAR!
