Contra Costa County CERT
Program
Unit 5 – Light Search & Rescue
Released: 6 September 2011
Community Emergency Response Team
 Personal safety is ALWAYS the number one priority
 Work as a team
 Wear personal protective equipment…gloves, helmet,
goggles, N95 mask and boots
 The CERT goal is to do the
Greatest Good for the Greatest Number
 Hope for the best but plan for the worst
Visual 5.1
Unit Objectives
 Identify size-up requirements for potential
search and rescue situations
 Describe the most common techniques for
searching a structure
 Use safe techniques for debris removal and
victim extrication using a lever and cribbing
Visual 5.2
Top Ten Natural Disasters
Event
Year
Hurricane Katrina
(AL, LA, MS)
2005
$7.2 billion*
Northridge Earthquake
(CA)
1994
$6.961 billion
Hurricane Georges
(AL, FL, LA, MS, PR, VI)
1998
$2.251 billion
Hurricane Ivan
(AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, TN, WVA)
2004
$1.947 billion**
Hurricane Andrew
(FL, LA)
1992
$1.813 billion
Hurricane Charley
(FL, SC)
2004
$1.559 billion**
Hurricane Frances
(FL, GA, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC)
2004
$1.425 billion**
Hurricane Jeanne
(DE, FL, PR, VI, VA)
2004
$1.407 billion**
Tropical Storm Allison
(FL, LA, MS, PA, TX)
2001
$1.387 billion
Hurricane Hugo
(NC, SC, PR, VI)
1989
$1.307 billion
Visual 5.3
FEMA Funding
Ranked By FEMA Relief Costs
What is the chance of a big earthquake?
"The
USGS has estimated a 62
percent chance of a magnitude 6.7
or larger earthquake in the Bay
Area within the next 28 years"
- John Rundle, director of the Center for Computational Science
and Engineering at the University of California, Davis 2008
Visual 5.4
The Bay Area Risk
Assessment
Visual 5.5
Rescue Skills Needed
5%
USAR
Teams
Void Space
Non-Structural
Entrapment
15%
Emergency
Services Provider
Non-Structural
Entrapment
30%
CERT Teams
Injured NOT
Trapped
50%
Spontaneous Rescue
Teams
Entombed
Visual 5.6
The Golden Day
Entrapped Victim Survival Rate
Time Until Rescue
Survival Rate
30 Minutes
99.3%
1 Day
81.0%
2 Days
36.7%
3 Days
33.7%
4 Days
19.0%
5 Days
7.4%
Visual 5.7
Buck Helm’s Car
Cypress Structure
Loma Prieta Earthquake
Photo Courtesy of Ben Ho
Goals of Search and Rescue
 Keep rescuers safe
 Rescue greatest number in
shortest amount of time
 Get “walking wounded” out
first
 Rescue lightly trapped
victims next
Visual 5.8
Search and Rescue Operations
1. Size-up
Evaluate everything that is going on
2. Search
Locate victims
Document location
3. Rescue
Involve procedures and methods to extricate
victims
Visual 5.9
Search and Rescue Safety
 Always have a whistle!
 The following “Emergency Alerting System” is to be used in
the event of problems at the site:
 Evacuate - 3 short blasts (1 second each)
• Out – Out - Out
• Drop everything and get out now!
 Cease Operations - 1 long blast (3 seconds duration)
• Quiet
• Stop what you’re doing and wait for instructions
 Resume Operations -1 long and 1 short blast
• Oooh - Kay
This is the FEMA US&R Standard
Visual 5.10
Search and Rescue Safety
 Earthquakes aftershocks

Severe after shocks following a major earthquake are
common and can create additional injuries and fatalities
 Unstable structures including bridges, overpasses, high
rises, homes and water towers may suffer further
collapse as a result of after shocks
 First responders must be constantly aware that they
may be affected by such events and take necessary
precautions while conducting their operations.
 Many injuries and deaths of first responders could be
prevented if more precautions against additional shock
waves were taken
Visual 5.11
Search and Rescue Safety
 With the constant threat of terrorist attacks it is essential
that response teams pay special attention to a very new
and potentially deadly threat
 Everyone has to heighten their awareness of their
surroundings
 Secondary explosions are becoming common techniques
used to cause serious injury and possibly mass death for
response teams
 There are no second chances when explosions are used
for this purpose
 After an explosion it is safe to assume that a secondary
devise is involved, unless proven otherwise
Visual 5.12
Before You Start
STOP
Stop
Think
Organize
Plan
Visual 5.13
Effective Search and Rescue
 Effective size-up
 Rescuer safety
 Victims safety
Visual 5.14
CERT Search and Rescue Size-up
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Gather Facts
Assess Damage and Communicate
Consider Probabilities
Assess Your Situation
Establish Priorities
Make Decisions
Develop Plan of Action
Take Action
Evaluate Progress
Visual 5.15
Step 1: Gather Facts
Consider:
 Time of event and day of week
 Type of structure and construction type
 Weather
 Hazards
 Occupancy
Gather facts accurately
Visual 5.16
Step 2: Assess Damage
 360 degree (overview and assessment)
 Identify entry and egress routes
 Identify hazards
 Is it safe to enter ?
 Potential for occupants
 Interview
neighbors
 Voice ‘call out’
Visual 5.17
Assess Damage
CERT mission changes if:
 Damage is light
 Damage is moderate
 Damage is heavy
Consider structure type
and age
Never enter a structure
with heavy damage!
Visual 5.18
Assess Damage
Light Damage
Light: Superficial or cosmetic
damage, broken windows, fallen
plaster; primary damage to
contents of structure
Visual 5.19
Locate, triage, and prioritize
removal of victims to designated
treatment areas by the medical
operation teams
Assess Damage
Moderate Damage
Moderate:
Questionable structural stability;
fractures, tilting, foundation
movement or displacement
Locate, stabilize, and immediately
evacuate victims to a safe area
while minimizing the number of
rescuers inside the building
Visual 5.20
Assess Damage
Heavy Damage
Heavy:
Obvious structural instability;
partial or total wall collapse,
ceiling failures
Visual 5.21
Secure the building perimeter and
control access into the structure
by untrained but well-intentioned
volunteers
Heavy Damage
Assess Damage
Loma Prieta earthquake damage in San Francisco. The soft first story is
due to construction of garages in the first story and resultant reduction in
shear strength. Photo from: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/bytopic/photos.html
Visual 5.22
Collapse Zone: Stay Out of This Area
• The collapse zone is one
and a half times the height
of the building (X), in all
directions (Y)
• Example: 40’ tall building,
collapse zone is 60’ out
from building
Danger tape goes here
Visual 5.23
• For buildings, chimneys
and other tall things that
can fall or crumble
Hazards – Light Frame Construction
 Loose HVAC equipment
 Cracked stucco
 Check doors and frame to see








Visual 5.24
if square
Brick chimneys
Broken electrical Lines
Masonry veneer can fall off
House off foundation
Broken glass
Loose roof tiles
Separated porches or
overhangs
Broken Gas and Water lines
Frame House Forces
Visual 5.25
Light Frame Collapse Pattern
Visual 5.26
Light Frame Construction
Copyright FEMA News Photo
Visual 5.27
Separation Between Buildings
Are walls parallel?
Don’t Get Caught in the Middle!
Visual 5.28
Above Ground Hazards
Fallen Fixtures
Loose Ceiling
Structure
Glass
Unsecured Furniture
Visual 5.29
Ground Level Hazards
Unstable Buildings
Falling Debris
Energized Wires
Loose Footing
Hazmat
Emotionally Unstable Survivors
Fire
Glass
Animals
Visual 5.30
Natural Gas: Locate The Shutoff
Visual 5.31
Water Service: Locate The Shutoff
Visual 5.32
Below Level Hazards
Visual 5.33
Step 3: Consider Probabilities
Consider what probably will happen and what could happen
 How stable is the


situation?
What else could go
wrong?
What it all means for the
Search and Rescue?
Visual 5.34
Step 4: Assess Your Situation
Assess :
 Whether the situation is safe enough to continue
 The risks that rescuers will face if they continue
 What resource you will need to conduct the operation
safely
 What resources are available
 Personnel
 Equipment
 Tools
Visual 5.35
Know Your Limitations
Visual 5.36
Take A Break
BE BACK IN 10 MINUTES
Visual 5.37
CERT Search and Rescue Size-up
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Gather Facts
Assess Damage
Consider Probabilities
Assess Your Situation
Establish Priorities
Make Decisions
Develop Plan of Action
Take Action
Evaluate Progress
Visual 5.38
Step 5: Establish Priorities
 What should be done?
 In what order?
 How to rescue the greatest
number in the shortest
amount of time?
Visual 5.39
Step 6: Make Decisions
 Keep in mind:
 Safety
of CERT members
 Life safety for victims and
others
 Protection of the
environment
 Protection of property
Visual 5.40
Step 7: Develop Plan of Action
 Focus operation on established priorities


and decisions
Provide for documentation to give to
responding agencies
Provide for documentation to become part
of CERT records
Visual 5.41
Safety Considerations
 Make rescuer safety your primary concern
 Use a buddy system
 Be alert for hazards
 Use safety equipment
 Rotate teams
Teamwork = Success
Visual 5.42
Search Methodology
An effective search methodology:
 Is systematic and thorough
 Avoids unnecessary duplication

Visual 5.43
of effort
Provides for documentation of
search results
Search Methods
1.
2.
3.
4.
Call out to victims
Stop frequently to listen
Use systematic search pattern
Mark searched areas to document what you
found
5. Report what you found
Visual 5.44
Conducting Search Operations
 Pancake Voids: Pancake voids (most common in pre-1933
buildings) are small voids throughout a structure that are
created by weakening or destruction of load-bearing walls and
the resulting collapse of floors onto each other.
 Lean-To Voids: Lean-to voids are created when a collapsed
wall or floor is resting against an outside wall, creating a pocket
of space.
 “V” Voids: These voids are created by a “V” collapse of a floor
or wall: the middle collapses and the ends lean against the
outside walls..
Visual 5.45
Conducting Search Operations
Individual Voids
Visual 5.46
Conducting Search Operations
Be thorough in your search !
Visual 5.47
Decision To Attempt Rescue
 Risk involved to the rescuer
 Greatest good for greatest number of people
Visual 5.48
Step 8: Take Action
Start the Search








Identify alternate exits
Stay together & along the walls
Start search from top down
Right or left handed pattern
Continue to call out and listen
Move slowly testing the floor
Mark each individual unit
Complete “X” after leaving
Visual 5.49
While Searching
 Always know the closest way out
 Knock, shout, and listen

Call out to victims
“If anyone can hear my voice, come here”

Ask any victims who do respond for more information
about the building or others who may be trapped
 Search under & around debris
 Check elevators
 Victims might be in shock or confused
Always be alert for aftershocks,
fires, and the smell of gas
Visual 5.50
Conducting Search Operations
Be Systematic !
Visual 5.51
Conducting Search Operations
Be Systematic !
Visual 5.52
Conducting Search Operations
Triangulate
Visual 5.53
Search Marking System
 Indicates rescuer location
 Prevents duplication of effort
 Search Marking is a Perishable Skill and must be
practiced regularly
Visual 5.54
Search Marking System
NE means No Entry made
Visual 5.55
Victim Marking System
Make a large “V” (2’ x 2’) with marker or Orange Paint
near the known or potential victim. Add team ID and
arrow with distance to the victim.
Visual 5.56
Victim Marking System
Make a circle around the “V” when a potential victim
has been confirmed to be alive. If more than one
confirmed live victim, mark total number under the “V”.
Visual 5.57
Victim Marking System
Make a horizonal line through the “V” when a potential
victim has been confirmed to be dead.
If a combination of live and deceased victims are
found, make two “V”s.
Visual 5.58
Victim Marking System
When all victims have been removed, make an “X”
over the symbol.
Visual 5.59
Building Marking System
CERT OK
NO CERT
NO CERT
Visual 5.60
Buildings are marked by Structural Engineers only!
Search Marking Examples
Visual 5.61
Building Marking Example
Visual 5.62
Exterior Search
 Set up a grid search
 Set distance between
searchers according to
visibility and debris
 Overlap patterns for full
coverage
 Search in as straight a line as
possible
 Mark areas that have been
searched
Visual 5.63
Conducting Rescue Operations
Visual 5.64
Conducting Rescue Operations
 Maintain rescuer safety
 Create a safe rescue environment
 Move
debris and objects out of the way
 Use tools not your backs to move objects
 Triage and stabilize victims in lightly and
moderately damaged buildings
 Evacuate victims quickly but safely
Visual 5.65
Proper Lifting Method
 Back straight
 Bend knees
 Keep load close
to body
 Push up with legs
Visual 5.66
Extrication Method
Depends upon:
 General stability of immediate environment
 Number of rescuers available
 Tools and equipment available
 Strength and ability of rescuers
 Condition of victim
Visual 5.67
Removing Victims
Types of victim removal include:
 Self-removal or assist
 Lifts and drags
Allow victims to
extricate themselves
when possible
Visual 5.68
Single Person Lift
If safety and time permit, you should not use
lifts and drags to remove victims when
closed-head or spinal injury is suspected
One-Person Pack-Strap Carry
One-Person Arm Carry
Not Good
Visual 5.69
Two-Person Carry
Two-Person Carry
Chair Carry
Better
Visual 5.70
Drags
Backs!
Visual 5.71
Good
Transporting Victims
Bad
Good
Twisted
Watch your backs!!
Visual 5.72
Leveraging and Cribbing Operations
Visual 5.73
ICS-US&R-120-1
Planning / Staging
 Conduct a size-up of the scene
 Have one person in charge and formulate a
plan of action
 Gather necessary materials for
leveraging (lifting) and cribbing operations
Visual 5.74
Leveraging And Cribbing
 When a large object such as a collapsed wall or heavy debris
needs to be moved in order to free victims, leverage and
cribbing may be used.


Leverage is obtained by wedging a lever (pole or other
long object) under the object that needs to be moved with
a stationary object underneath it to act as a fulcrum. When
the lever is forced down over the fulcrum, greater force is
obtained to lift the object.
 A crib is a framework of wooden, plastic or metal bars
used for support or strengthening. Box cribbing means
arranging pairs of wood pieces alternately to form a stable
rectangle. In a disaster situation, debris may be available
to use for cribbing.
Leveraging and Cribbing are Perishable Skills and must be
practiced regularly
Visual 5.75
Leveraging
 Lever Defined: A rigid bar, either straight or bent,
that is free to move on a fixed point called a
fulcrum
 A lever works by transferring a force from one
place to another while at the same time changing
the direction of the force
Clallam County Technical Rescue Team photo
Visual 5.76
Cribbing Video
Visual 5.77
Leveraging (Lifting)
Lift an inch, Crib an inch
 Stabilize the object to be lifted
 Initiate the lift using the lever and fulcrum for
mechanical advantage
 Have someone available to handle the victim
 As the object is lifted, add cribbing as needed; build
on the foundation of the box crib
 When the object is adequately supported, the victim
may be removed
Visual 5.78
Cribbing
24,000 lbs. total if
load is supported by
4 joints
54,000 lbs. total if
load is supported by
9 joints
Visual 5.79
4” x 4” wood
6,000 lbs. at
each joint
Cribbing
 Wood fails at cut ends first
 Overlap ends by width of
member – 4x4 = 3.5” overlap
 Don’t crib higher than three
times the width of the crib
 Load needs to be supported
with wood-to-wood contact all
the way to the ground
Visual 5.80
Cribbing
 Shims are used to
match the angle of a
surface
 Shims balance the
load by ensuring
even contact
Copyright Marin Sheriff’s Search & Rescue
Visual 5.81
Cribbing
 Wedges are used as variable height crib
members
 Wedges are inserted as Married Pairs
 Wedges can be used as Inclined Planes to
prevent sliding movement
 Single wedges can be used for temporary
stabilization until flat pieces can be inserted
Visual 5.82
Cribbing Operations
Cribbing Operations Check list
S- Safety: Are we safe
S- Size up: The situation
S- Stabilize: All four corners
R- Remove: Debris
R- Raise: The load
R- Rescue: Pull victim clear
Keep hands and toes clear
of the load.
Visual 5.83
Resource Arrangement Example
Safety Officer
Visual 5.84
Cribbing Example
 Stabilize structures
 Entry & Egress
 Provide rescuer safety
 Access to victims
Visual 5.85
Step 9: Evaluate Progress
 Most critical step
 Monitor plan’s effectiveness
and safety
Visual 5.86
Unit Summary
 CERT size-up for potential search and rescue
situations
 Search techniques
 Lifts and drags
 Levers and cribbing
Visual 5.87