DESTINY — First responders from the region spent several hours in Choctawhatchee Bay last week training with the United States Coast Guard to become more effective in search and rescue operations.
The teams were made up of personnel from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Destin Fire Rescue, and the Air Force’s SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance and Escape) School.
Lt. Jason Fulghum of the OCSO said the Marine unit he oversees is nearly full, with five deputies participating over the course of a week.
Girl saved: Coast Guard rescues 11-year-old with allergic reaction 23 miles south of Destin Pass
In case you missed it: Search continues for missing swimmer in Destin
The training, dubbed “Boat Operator Search and Rescue (BOSAR)”, was delivered by instructors from Coast Guard Station Destin in cooperation with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA).
The course provided specialized search and rescue training designed to strengthen partnerships and promote mission success in search and rescue operations.
The Coast Guard has designated the training as a national standard for maritime first responders. OCSO deputies conducted joint training with the Coast Guard on boat operations last year, but this was their first BOSAR training.
“The biggest thing BOSAR training does for us is puts us and the Coast Guard and other agencies on the same page when it comes to searching for lost swimmers or lost boaters,” said said Fulghum. “So everyone is using the same research models and approaching it the same way.”
Responders learned advanced tactics and techniques needed to locate and rescue people at sea while learning to work seamlessly with other federal, state, and local responders.
Several hours consisted of on-water exercises and scenario-based exercises. Fulghum said the deputies came back from training knowing how to set up a search pattern for missing vessels based on their original location and current sea and wind conditions. These factors can indicate in which direction a boat or person may have drifted.
“They teach us how the Coast Guard does what you call ‘set and derive’ and how to use the chartplotter to find out,” said Fulghum, who added that it can be a valuable skill. for many real-world actors. assistant scenarios in the marine unit encounter.
“Say you have someone on a tank over there and they say ‘My kid was on a tank just a second ago. Now I don’t know where they are.’ he said. “We would be able to use the same principles to determine which direction that float would have gone so we could narrow down the search.”
The OCSO Marine Unit typically partners with the Coast Guard and other agencies such as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to conduct search and rescue missions.
In July, OCSO MPs helped the Coast Guard rescue four people after their boat capsized near the Marler Bridge. A 45ft response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Destin was the first to encounter boaters returning from a previous mission.
The boat capsizes: Coast Guard rescues four people after boat capsizes near Destin Bridge
But in some cases, the OCSO Marine Unit is the first on the scene. A standardized method of search and rescue will likely speed up the time it takes for responders to locate swimmers or boaters who have strayed from shore, Fulghum said.
“That way, if we end up getting there first, we can start doing it so that by the time the Coast Guard gets there, or other agencies get there, we all know what the ship is doing. ‘other person,’ he said. “It makes research much faster.”
The training not only tested the abilities of the responders, but also that of their equipment en route in Choctawhatchee Bay near Destin. Fulghum said many MPs returning from the training enjoyed collaborating with other agencies and thought the material “was going to be useful”.
Fulghum said the OCSO Marine Unit has a “good working relationship” with the Coast Guard and other agencies, including Destin Fire Rescue, Niceville Fire Department, and Niceville Fire Department. Okaloosa Island.
“Anytime you can take multiple agencies that work in the same area and end up working together depending on the circumstances, and put those people in the same room, you get a lot more benefits than just the training itself. same,” Fulghum said. “You get the team spirit aspect. You get the contacts where it allows the different agencies to work better together when we actually have a service call. »
