Planning Section Chief Search and Rescue (PSCSAR) is a management level course.
It focuses on the knowledge and techniques needed to effectively perform the duties
of the Planning Section Chief on any search and rescue operation managed under
the NIMS Incident Command System.
Using the ICS framework and actual scenarios, this course deals with search and
rescue strategy development, probability of area and probability of detection
calculations in planning and evaluating the search operation.
The students are given "state-of-the art" tools, which they use during the course
to solve actual problems and effectively plan search and rescue operations.
The course also covers the procedures used by personnel within the Situation
Unit, Resource Unit, Documentation Unit and Demobilization Unit. This course provides
the skills and knowledge a person needs to function as a member of the General
Staff on an Incident Management Team for SAR operations.
The recommended number of hours for the course is (24) twenty-four. This course
may be taught over two weekends or straight through over three days. Extra practical
exercises can be added and may increase the time to 32 hours.
This course is designed for persons who been Operations Chiefs or have held other
management positions during search and rescue operations and are ready to advance
to the management planning level.
Emergency response professionals desiring to better understand the ICS planning
function concepts (the concepts taught in this course apply to all types of emergency
response, and were used to manage the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and major wildland
fires) as well as Planning Section Chiefs and other ICS managers who would like
to refresh or expand their knowledge of search and rescue management planning
will benefit from this course. Additionally suited for PSCSAR are SAR personnel
who want to learn comprehensive and detailed information about the planning functions
needed during lost person incidents.
It is recommended as a prerequisite for PSCSAR students to have taken Managing
the Lost Person Incident and the (NIIMS) ICS I-200 series course. The (NIIMS)
ICS I-300 series will also be very helpful to the PSCSAR student.
The SAR Incident Commander Field Handbook should be brought to the class.
