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Oplopanax Horridus

A veteran SAR volunteer's experiences in British Columbia

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    • On Blaming the Victim
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SAR Call Volume Trends

By Michael Coyle Posted on 03/02/2017 Posted in Blog Entry 4 Comments Tagged with InfoSAR, statistics
SAR Call Volume Trends
SAR Tasks in BC 1998-2015

Last week I published a post showing how the 2015-2016 year was unusually busy one for SAR groups in British Columbia. That one dealt with the number of people rescued, and at the end of it I uncovered one of the reasons for …

SAR Call Volume Trends Read more »

SAR Call volume up province wide

By Michael Coyle Posted on 26/01/2017 Posted in Blog Entry No Comments Tagged with call volume, InfoSAR, statistics
SAR Call volume up province wide
SAR Tasks 1992 to 2016

SAR Teams in BC saw more than a 25% increase in people rescued in 2015/16

Out of Bounds Skiers are not the problem

By Michael Coyle Posted on 27/12/2016 Posted in Short Posts 18 Comments Tagged with no charge for rescue, rescue, ski, snow
Out of Bounds Skiers are not the problem

There’s no appreciable difference between and out of bounds skier and most other rescues SAR does.

High profile SAR

By Michael Coyle Posted on 04/08/2016 Posted in Blog Entry 2 Comments Tagged with High Profile, ICS, management, media
High profile SAR

What do you do when a famous person goes missing in your search area?

Why media engagement matters

By Michael Coyle Posted on 04/07/2016 Posted in Blog Entry 2 Comments Tagged with media, search and rescue
Why media engagement matters

Media reporting of SAR shapes how the public and policy makers understand us – to our detriment.

SAR Expertise doesn’t come free

By Michael Coyle Posted on 07/06/2016 Posted in Blog Entry, Short Posts 3 Comments Tagged with expertise, SAR, technology
SAR Expertise doesn’t come free

If you are developing a project to assist SAR – tap into our expertise, but do so by respecting that our time is valuable and worth paying for.

Distracted Driving and SAR

By Michael Coyle Posted on 01/06/2016 Posted in Blog Entry 3 Comments Tagged with communications, legal, radio
Distracted Driving and SAR
Hand held and remote mic strapped to body

Distrated driving legislation in BC includes hand held radios – what you need to know

UAV Exemption myths

By Michael Coyle Posted on 18/05/2016 Posted in Blog Entry, Short Posts 1 Comment Tagged with technology, UAV
UAV Exemption myths

Where you can and can’t fly your UAV under the Transport Canada sub-2kg exemption for commercial use.

Uniforms in SAR

By Michael Coyle Posted on 04/05/2016 Posted in Blog Entry, Short Posts 1 Comment Tagged with Equipment, musing

Take a look at these soldiers They are members of the Spanish Legion, and while you or I may think they look a little funny they are proud of their uniforms. Uniforms you ask? Yes, those are their dress uniforms. …

Uniforms in SAR Read more »

On Being a Hero

By Michael Coyle Posted on 07/03/2016 Posted in Blog Entry 4 Comments
On Being a Hero

My SAR team is doing a recruiting cycle and this always leads to questions about what kind of person we need to join a SAR team. My answer is always “someone who does not want to be a hero”. You’d …

On Being a Hero Read more »

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Recent

  • Backcountry Safety is a Shared Responsibility
  • Are “selfies” hazardous?
  • “Dog Walker” Behaviour Profile
  • Reflections on 2017
  • Accidental Triggering of SPOT device

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Blogroll

  • AdventureSmart
  • Coquitlam SAR
  • North Shore Hikers
  • North Shore Outdoor
  • Outdoor Vancouver
  • Roland Web Memorial
  • SARBayes
  • TrueNorth Geospatial
  • Wayne Flann's Avalanche Blog

Older stuff

Recent

  • Backcountry Safety is a Shared Responsibility
  • Are “selfies” hazardous?
  • “Dog Walker” Behaviour Profile
  • Reflections on 2017
  • Accidental Triggering of SPOT device

Blogroll

  • AdventureSmart
  • Coquitlam SAR
  • North Shore Hikers
  • North Shore Outdoor
  • Outdoor Vancouver
  • Roland Web Memorial
  • SARBayes
  • TrueNorth Geospatial
  • Wayne Flann's Avalanche Blog

Projects

  • BlueToque Software
  • Missing Poster Generator
  • TrueNorth Geospatial
  • YourLo.ca/tion

Resource

  • AdventureSmart
  • Canadian Avalanche Association
  • Canadian Avalanche Centre
  • TrueNorth Geospatial

Projects

  • BlueToque Software Software architecture, design and build BlueToque Software Software architecture, design and build
  • Missing Poster Generator Easy generation, printing and sharing of missing posters Missing Poster Generator Easy generation, printing and sharing of missing posters
  • TrueNorth Geospatial Mapping software for backcountry professionals TrueNorth Geospatial Mapping software for backcountry professionals
  • YourLo.ca/tion A simple location finding, sharing and tracking service for SAR teams YourLo.ca/tion A simple location finding, sharing and tracking service for SAR teams
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Oplopanax Horridus Copyright © 2013 by Michael Coyle
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