Megan Broome/The Clayton Tribune
TIGER-- The Rabun County Search and Rescue team is made up completely of volunteers who dedicate their time to serve the residents of Rabun County.
There are approximately 40 team members.
Their specialized training allows them to rescue people in various scenarios whether it be lost in the woods on a hiking trail, a fall off an embankment or trapped in high currents.
The unit is located at Station 19 on Syrup City Rd. in Tiger and is under the umbrella of Rabun County EMA.
Chief Will McCracken and Lt. Chris Wright said that they love being able to serve the people of their community.
McCracken said that the concern with an all-volunteer department is that they never know who is going to show up on scene.
“I really enjoy helping people. I do it because I want to help people, “McCracken said.
Wright said that being part of the team is an act of service for the community.
“You always want to be in a position to give back,” Wright said. He said that he has it in his heart to serve others.
Their motto is “one team, one goal” and McCracken said that the group does a great job of working together.
“It’s a team effort. It takes the whole unit to be able to do what we do,” McCracken said. He said that they currently have a great team in place.
“One team, one goal, everyone comes home,” McCracken reiterated. He said that there are different aspects of search and rescue that are completed by team members who are skilled in those areas. That includes swiftwater rescue, high angle and low angle rescues off embankments and ground searches.
“You learn people’s specialities,” Wright said. “You learn your team and where to put them best.” He said that all the skill sets come together to make a cohesive and effective team. “You have your different specialties and that’s what makes everything work together.”
Wright said that the busiest time of year for Search and Rescue is spring through the end of fall.
McCracken said that the majority of their calls on average occur at 4 p.m. or later.
Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best
McCracken said that since the calls are so unpredictable and happen at any time, the team does its best to prepare as much as it can.
“It depends on the nature of the call,” he said about how they prepare. He said that they take the medical supplies they think they will need based on the information they are given.
Wright said that dispatch plays an important role in helping search and rescue determine what equipment and resources the team will need on a call and to navigate to the location of the patient.
“The more information and the more clear they can give us, the better it is for us,” Wright said. He said that dispatch has to be extremely thorough and is especially helpful when trying to pinpoint GPS coordinates of where a patient is located.
“I think dispatch does a really good job of narrowing down that area,” Wright said. He said that the team members are pretty familiar with the Rabun County area.
“Most of us are pretty familiar with most of our hiking trails and tourist attractions,” Wright said. Although the supplies vary depending on the nature of the call, McCracken said that some core supplies needed are basic medical equipment, a tourniquet, extra water, extra blankets, flashlights, maps, paracords, and duct tape.
Wright said that it’s very important to consider the weight of all the materials you are carrying and that the goal is to carry as much as possible weighing as little as possible.
He said that it’s important to treat every scenario as an emergency until they know differently.
“We try to work hand-in-hand with all organizations in the county,” McCracken said.
Equipment
The Search and Rescue team uses some specialized and task-specific equipment based on the nature of the call they get, its location and the terrain of the area.
They use equipment such as motorcycles, ATVs/UTV Rangers, trucks, motorcycles, boats and other important equipment.
They also use ropes, harnesses, safety glasses, helmets and gloves sometimes also.
They also use a device called a Stokes Basket to transport patients to safety through various types of terrain.
“We try to make them as comfortable as possible,” McCracken said. He said that the goal is to try and make the experience as best as possible for the patient.
McCracken said that the team constantly brainstorms, “what does a patient need that will make this experience better?”
He said that each call is a new opportunity to learn about how they can improve on other calls in the future.
Wright said that it’s important to “pay attention to team members” while on a call and work as a team for the common goal.
“The worst thing we can do is add patients to the scene,” Wright said.
Swiftwater rescue team training
The Search and Rescue crew is made up of team members who specialize in different areas of rescue, and one of those is the swiftwater team.
Search and Rescue member Tate Nichols said that swiftwater is any water from your calf up that has a current.
Several search and rescue members have attended the Fathom Academy Swiftwater Rescue Training in Georgetown, Texas.
“It really helps solidify those swift water skills,” Wright said.
“It’s a controlled environment so they were able to show us what we can and can’t do without putting us in danger,” McCracken said.
Nichols said that it was because of this training that allowed the team to locate a drowning victim in the Tallulah River in June.
“It was a great benefit to the team,” Nichols said about how the training impacted the Tallulah River rescue.
Nichols said that the swiftwater training is difficult to find.
“We learned a lot of team dynamics,” Nichols said,
Swifwater member Hunter Hargrave also went to the training course in Texas and said that the simulated environment allows them to repeat scenarios for practice.
“We can repeat stuff over and over in the same place,” Hargrave said. He explained that the training course is real-life scenarios in a controlled environment. He said that this is important for the “risk v. reward” aspect.
“You can introduce different scenarios in Texas (at the training facility),” McCracken said. “If something were to go wrong we can shut down and start over.”
Nichols said that he loves working for the team “because it’s the greatest job in the world.”
“It was my way of doing community service,” Nichols said.
Hargrave said that he wants to help people and make a difference in their lives.
The swiftwater safety course covers subjects like pre-planning and site survey for a flood incident, understanding of basic hydrology, search and rescue, shoreline rescue, ropes and lines, aircraft and watercraft support and aggressive swimming techniques.
Prepare for an emergency
McCracken said that it’s important to develop a plan when venturing out into the woods or anywhere else.
“Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back,” McCracken said. He said that it’s important to have extra water and have a primary, alternate, contingency and emergency plan in place.
Rabun County Search and Rescue also helps in providing mutual aid to surrounding areas.