Yesterday my SAR team was called to rescue three stranded hikers near Buntzen Lake. Global News covered the story. The location software they are referring to is YourLo.ca/tion, a prototype I whipped up based on some ideas myself and another…
Blog Archives
Locating lost people using smart phones
A few weeks back I managed a search for two people lost near Buntzen Lake. After we rescued them, I learned that one of them had a smart phone with a GPS (in this case, an iPhone), but neither subject…
Tagged with: emergency, GPS, map, project, rescue, smart phone, SMS, technology, YourLo.ca/tion
Posted in Blog Entry
Posted in Blog Entry
Canadian Military considering charging for Disaster Relief services
I just listened to this interview this morning on CBC. Chris Alexander, the parliamentary secretary to Defence Minister Peter MacKay was interviewed by Anna Maria Tremonti. In the interview, Alexander said that the Canadian Military is consisdering charging provinces, cities and…
Risk is part of Adventure
I have to take this opportunity to share the excellent letter written by Jon Heshka in the Vancouver Sun today on the nature of risk. In light of recent incidents in the North Shore and elsewhere, there’s been a bit…
Opinions on SAR Cost Recovery
Many members of the public seem to think that people who “break the rules” and need to be rescued should be charged for the cost of that rescue. This fits in line with the general “Blame the Victim” attitude that…
Harvey’s cloud
The other day I was watching some of the great YouTube videos on the Environment Canada channel when I came across this one, on a “microscale weather phenomenon” near Whistler (this one was produced for the 2010 Olympics). I had…
A Social Media Storm
I originally wrote the following as a response to a question in a LinkedIn Group “Do you have a social media policy?”, and although it’s not a direct answer to that question it is an interesting lesson on an undesired effect of…
Hypothermia Kit Conundrum
Our SAR team maintains several hypothermia treatment kits, and without going into too much detail they contain equipment for treating and transporting hypothermic patients. There various sorts of shelter, specialized waterproof subject bags, tarps, heating equipment, stoves etc. One of…
Tagged with: Equipment, feedback, gear, Hypothermia, question, rescue, SAR, search
Posted in Blog Entry
Posted in Blog Entry
Managing my first large search: Initial thoughts
My team ended up conducting a large search over the BC Day long weekend. Some Details On Thursday Aug 5 at 5:30 I happened to be the on-duty manager when we were paged. I called back and talked to a…
We don’t need Heroes
It was with dismay that I read the Time Colonist editorial entitled “First Responders Need Leeway” today (July 28, editorial published July 19th). It appears that the perception that the Premier of Ontario stepped in to save the day in the…
BlueToque Software
Software Design, Architecture and Consulting
TrueNorth Geospatial
Mapping Software for Backcountry Professionals
YourLo.ca/tion
Locate people using their SmartPhones
