Emergency Response Team Search and Rescue

Emergency Response Team Search and Rescue, commonly abbreviated ERTSAR, is a volunteer-run search-and-rescue and disaster-response non-governmental organization with roots in the United Kingdom and a later Canadian branch. It was established in the UK on 1 December 2002 by Gary Foo as a nonprofit organization. The original UK team operated under the name Oxfordshire Search And Rescue, or OSAR, before adopting the ERTSAR name in 2006 to reflect a broader international disaster-response role. The organization was registered as a charity in England and Wales in 2004, and a Canadian branch was established in 2011. ERTSAR’s purpose is to respond to emergencies and disasters and to reduce suffering and distress among people affected by hazards, major incidents and other risks. Its activities extend beyond incident response. The organization provides medical first-responder services, support for emergency services, civil-defence and civil-protection assistance, community and educational programs, disaster-risk-reduction work, resilience support, assistance for special events and other preparedness initiatives. Its operating model relies on trained volunteers rather than a conventional commercial workforce. The organization has specialist capabilities in urban search and rescue, technical rescue, swiftwater rescue, water rescue, man-tracking and search-dog operations. The UK team is listed as a national Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs flood-response team and maintains a specialist rescue-boat capability for flood incidents throughout the United Kingdom. UK and Canadian personnel can also be requested by police forces for high-risk searches for missing or vulnerable people. These capabilities position ERTSAR between a community emergency-support organization and an internationally deployable disaster-response team. ERTSAR has participated in responses to major disasters in both the UK and overseas. International deployments cited for the organization include the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2010 Pakistan floods, Hurricane Sandy recovery work in Staten Island in 2012, and the response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013. Its international work has included medical assistance, relief support, water purification, debris clearance and support for remote communities. In the UK, ERTSAR has supported civil-contingencies operations during the 2007 Oxfordshire floods, the severe snow and ice conditions of 2010, flooding in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire in November 2012, and the December 2013 tidal surge and storm flooding on England’s east coast. The team has also worked with police authorities on missing-person searches. Funding is described as coming primarily from public and local-business donations. In February 2016, the organization received £17,713.60 through the Department for Transport’s Inland Rescue Boat Grant Scheme to support water-rescue services. ERTSAR’s identity is therefore based on volunteer professionalism, rapid mobilization, technical rescue capability and public-service cooperation rather than on consumer products or commercial branding.

Emergency Response Team Search and Rescue was founded in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2002 by Gary Foo as a nonprofit emergency-response NGO. Its first UK identity was Oxfordshire Search And Rescue, a locally oriented search-and-rescue team. The organization became a registered charity in England and Wales in 2004. As its activities expanded beyond Oxfordshire and into international disaster response, it changed its name to Emergency Response Team Search And Rescue in 2006. The organization developed a model combining community-based emergency support with specialist rescue capabilities. Its work includes medical first response, educational and community programs, emergency-services support, civil defence, civil protection, disaster-risk reduction, resilience assistance and special-event cover. The UK team also became a national DEFRA flood-response team, with a specialist boat crew able to assist in flooding incidents around the country. Police forces can call on UK and Canadian personnel for high-risk searches for missing or vulnerable people, supported by man-tracking and search-dog skills. ERTSAR’s international profile grew through deployments to major disasters. It responded in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and in Pakistan after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, including subsequent support and relief missions. It later deployed to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and to Pakistan during the 2010 floods. The organization also supported UK civil-contingency operations, including the 2007 Oxfordshire floods and the severe snow and ice conditions of 2010. A Canadian branch was founded in 2011, giving the organization an additional base in Toronto and expanding its North American response capacity. In December 2012, the Canadian team spent a week in Staten Island assisting recovery operations following Hurricane Sandy. The UK team separately used its swiftwater capability during flooding in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire in November 2012. In 2013, UK and Canadian members deployed to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. Their reported activities included medical aid, water purification and debris clearance for remote island communities. On 5 December of the same year, the UK team sent swiftwater rescue technicians and boat crews to Norfolk in response to tidal-surge and severe storm flooding, following a request routed through the National Fire Service and DEFRA. ERTSAR is described as being run entirely by volunteers and funded through public and local-business donations. Its water-rescue work received public support in February 2016, when it was awarded £17,713.60 under the Department for Transport’s Inland Rescue Boat Grant Scheme. The organization’s history reflects a progression from a county-based UK search-and-rescue group to a dual-country NGO with national emergency-response responsibilities and an international disaster-relief remit.

• 2016

  Water-rescue grant awarded

  [1]Emergency Response Team Search and Rescueen.wikipedia.org

  ERTSAR received a £17,713.60 Department for Transport inland rescue boat grant.

• 2013

  Philippines and UK flood deployments

  [1]Emergency Response Team Search and Rescueen.wikipedia.org

  The organization responded to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and to severe tidal-surge flooding in Norfolk.

• 2011

  Canadian branch established

  [1]Emergency Response Team Search and Rescueen.wikipedia.org

  ERTSAR established a Canadian branch based in Toronto.

• 2006

  Renamed from Oxfordshire Search And Rescue

  [1]Emergency Response Team Search and Rescueen.wikipedia.org

  The UK team adopted the ERTSAR name to reflect its growing international disaster-response role.

• 2004

  Registered as an English and Welsh charity

  [1]Emergency Response Team Search and Rescueen.wikipedia.org

  The organization obtained charitable registration in England and Wales.

• 2002

  Organization founded in the United Kingdom

  [1]Emergency Response Team Search and Rescueen.wikipedia.org

  Gary Foo founded the nonprofit emergency-response organization on 1 December 2002.

A volunteer-led, technically capable emergency-response NGO combining local and national UK incident support with international disaster deployments.

• Emergency response service · 2002

  Search and rescue response

  ERTSAR provides trained volunteer teams for search-and-rescue operations in disaster and major-incident settings. Its capabilities include urban search and rescue, technical rescue, swiftwater rescue and other specialist response functions. The service is intended for emergency deployments rather than commercial consumer use.

• Water-rescue service

  Flood and inland water rescue

  The UK team operates as a national DEFRA flood-response resource and maintains specialist rescue-boat personnel. It can be mobilized to flooding incidents across the country, including storm, tidal-surge and inland-flood emergencies.

• Search service

  Missing-person search support

  ERTSAR supports police-led searches for high-risk missing or vulnerable people. The organization’s stated capabilities include man-tracking and search-dog operations, allowing it to contribute specialist personnel to difficult or time-sensitive searches.

• Humanitarian and community service

  Disaster relief and resilience programs

  Beyond immediate rescue, ERTSAR provides medical first-response support, water purification, debris clearance, emergency-services assistance, educational programs, civil protection, disaster-risk reduction and community-resilience activities.

• 2011

  Establishment of the Canadian branchStrategy

  Background

  ERTSAR sought to extend its volunteer disaster-response presence beyond the United Kingdom.

  Action taken

  A Canadian branch was founded in Toronto.

  Aftermath

  The Canadian team later supported recovery operations in Staten Island after Hurricane Sandy and participated in the Philippines deployment.

  Source

• 2006

  Adoption of the ERTSAR nameStrategy

  Background

  The original UK team, Oxfordshire Search And Rescue, had expanded its remit beyond a primarily local identity.

  Action taken

  The organization renamed itself Emergency Response Team Search And Rescue to signal its broader international disaster-response role.

  Aftermath

  The renamed organization continued to develop national UK response capabilities and international deployments.

  Source

1. 1Emergency Response Team Search and Rescueen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official ERTSAR UK websiteert-sar.org.uk