Hello
What do you do in your day job?
What attracted you to working with LONSAR?
I am an IT Manager within the education sector providing technical support to a large group of independent schools. I have also been a qualified Mountain Leader for the past 13 years and have led expeditions throughout the UK and internationally.
There's obviously a lack of mountains in London but a friend told me about Lowland Rescue and it sounded like a good way to use my skill set to do something for the local community.
Paul - Resource Director
Can you tell us about a search that you took part in that stands out in your memory?
The phone alert came in at 23:00 on a Friday evening and the family were all in bed. I warned my wife that I was heading out and after 90 mins driving through heavy snow I arrived on scene at 00:30. After several hours of searching we identified a number of discarded items sitting on top of the snow which indicated a possible direction of travel. We continued along the possible route and soon located an asthma pump and a blood patches which were also visible in the snow. Scanning the path with my torch I discovered the missing person laying face down in the snow.
Within seconds the rest of the search team were assisting with assessing the casualty and calling in further medical help.
The casualty was incredibly cold and due to other medical reasons in a semi-conscious state so required constant monitoring. The Paramedics arrived and rushed the casualty off to hospital for further treatment. The team headed back to the ICU for a debrief with the Police and a warm drink.
I was home by 08:30 for breakfast with my family after another 90 minute drive through the snow. It took a couple of days to get an update but we were very pleased to hear the missing person would be back at home with their partner and children soon. A long week at work doing the "day job" followed by a challenging search, especially as this was my very first live call out after qualifying as a Search Technician!
What’s the most challenging part of being a search technician?
Accepting you can't do every search.
When the phone goes off you want to drop what you are doing. We all give our time freely but it's important to balance time with work, family, friends and making sure you rest.
And the best part?
I have two. Providing closure to family and friends of the missing person even if the outcome isn't as positive as we hope.
Working with such a committed, welcoming and friendly team. What we do can be stressful but the team are fantastic and support each other.
What3words is a navigational tool that most of us know.
What three words would you use to describe yourself?
reliable.enthusiastic.committed.