Ohio Special Response Team partners with 6 Ohio County EMA Directors to provide CERT members with advanced training and field exercises.

OSRT has joined forces with County EMA Directors from Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Knox, Morrow, and Richland to build a more comprehensive series of training, field exercise, and disaster response programs for each county's Community Emergency Response Team. The program unofficially kicked off in October of 2024 when OSRT unit captain Jeremy Artzner delivered a structure search module for Richland County CERT members. As part of this innovative program, the credentialed search, rescue, and disaster response members of OSRT will assist EMA CERT units by providing additional comprehensive training and exercise opportunities beyond their core competencies.

The first full exercise was conducted in Ashland, Ohio, where OSRT and CERT personnel conducted a search exercise in a 4 story structure – locating and extracting multiple mock victims. CERT members were able to experience K-9 search methods as well as stairwell extractions of wheelchair bound victims and the use of a stokes basket belay system.

Additional Potential Training Opportunities Include

• Future Urban Structure Search Techniques

• Back Country Search Techniques

• Land Navigation

• Incident Traffic Control Methods

• Rescue / Evacuation Techniques for Special Populations

• Advanced Disaster Damage Assessment

• Disaster Preparation Planning

• FEMA Structure Marking Systems

• Animal Rescue Techniques

• Personal Protective Equipment

• Flood Rescue Techniques

• Compass and GPS Navigation

• Working With K-9 Search Teams

• Stairwell extraction Techniques

  
  

The Ohio Special Response Team is the designated Search & Rescue Resource (ESF-9) identified in the State of Ohio Emergency Operations Plan. Team members are trained and credentialed via National Association for Search and Rescue, Mountain Rescue Association, National Land SAR School, International Police Working Dog Association, and other respected professional development entities. This all volunteer team has seven units distributed around the state and regularly responds to missing persons searches and other incidents.

Visit the Ohio Special Response Team online at http://ohiospecialresponseteam.org

Team members use a rope rescue belay to aid in extracting a Stokes Basket down ten flights of stairs.

Team members extract a wheelchair-bound victim down stairs.