Activating SAR resources

Your SAR organisation's readiness plan should include detailed information about SAR resources that are available for SAR responses. Your readiness plan should also include information on the capability of each SAR organisation.

SAR resources that should always be available include:

• Incident Controllers who are SAR subject matter experts
• members of Incident Management Teams.

These resources include:

• intelligence resources
• investigation resources
• communication resources
• response resources
• experts such as medical, aviation, cave and alpine specialists.

SAR resources that are always available (dedicated SAR resources) include:

• rescue and medical helicopters
• ambulances
• police staff including police SAR squads
• police aviation resources
• police marine resources
• NZDF resources
• Coastguard resources
• Surf Life Saving resources
• LandSAR resources.

You need to let the SAR organisation know that you may need the resource. You also need to let the SAR organisation know:

• what time you need the resource and where you need it to be
• the state of readiness you need the resource to be in.

All requests for SAR resources should include an effect request that describes the effect you want.

If you are part of a SAR coordinating authority and you request a resource from someone at a SAR partner agency, you need to give detailed information to the SAR partner agency.

You need to let the SAR partner agency know:

• that a SAR operation has started
• which coordinating authority is requesting the SAR resource
• the category of the SAR operation
• the emergency phase 
• the name of the Incident Controller and location of the Incident Control Point
• how to communicate with the Incident Control Point (for example, the method of communication, the radio frequency, phone numbers, etc.)
• the circumstances of the incident
• the location of the subject if known
• any known risks to the subject
• any known or likely risks to SAR resources responding to the incident (see the link to SAR health and safety plans below).

When discussing the use of the SAR partner agency's resources, you need to let the SAR partner agency know:

• the locations where the resource will be needed when deployed and tasked
• the latest time that deployment needs to start
• the latest time the task will need to be completed (if known)
• how long the requested SAR resource will need to last (the expected endurance required)
• that the SAR resource must communicate with the Incident Control Point before leaving the resources deployment location
• that the SAR organisation supplying the resource must advise the Incident Controller of any operational restrictions and anything else that may affect the resource's ability to carry out taskings.

SAR resources that are always available should be activated at the earliest opportunity. Activating dedicated SAR resources early will minimise the time between Awareness and tasking, and reduce the time it takes to mobilise the resource.

Your SAR organisation's readiness plan will contain information on situations where you can immediately activate SAR resources (so before an Incident Controller is appointed).

This will minimise the risk of too many or too few SAR resources being available for each incident.

If you request a resource from another SAR organisation, you should let the organisation know the effect you want from that resource. This will help the SAR organisation to get you the right resource.

The effect is what you want the resource to achieve when it is deployed

When you ask another SAR organisation for resources, focus on the effect you want the resource to achieve. Avoid requesting a specific resource. You should send further information about the incident with the effect request.

Focus on what you want a SAR resource to do

For example, you could say 'I need a SAR resource to check the launching ramp at XYZ location to see if a car and boat trailer are still there.' This doesn't specify the resource you want. Instead, it focuses on what you want the resource to achieve.

Avoid requesting specific SAR resources

For example, don't say 'Dispatch the North Shore incident car to the launching ramp at XYZ location to see if a car and boat trailer are still there.' This names a specific resource, not the effect you want from the resource. By naming a specific resource, you may not be requesting the best resource the organisation has available, and the resource you request may not be available at all.

Identifying the effect will help the SAR organisation get you what you need

SAR organisations know their resources best. They have access to their internal record system which tells them:

• the capability of their resources
• which resources are available

SAR organisations will try to fulfil requests for resources

They'll look at all the information in your request to see if they have a suitable resource available. If they do, they will select the best resource available for the job.

SAR organisations can decline requests for their resources

SAR partner agencies have the right to decline requests if they:

• don't have a suitable resource available
• think a potential resource may be at undue risk if deployed

SAR coordinating authorities always have the right to decline requests for operational reasons.