Category: Winter 2024

President’s Message Winter 2024

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable holiday season. As we begin this new year, the MRA membership will have an opportunity to determine how they can be more engaged in the business of the organization. Previously, each member team had one vote on matters before the board. The Officers Committee dealt with any matters

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Drones a “Lifesaving Asset” for SAR Teams

On the evening of Dec. 23, California’s Malibu Search and Rescue received a call for a missing 78-year-old male with dementia who was last seen several hours earlier when he went out to retrieve his mail. The call came in at 7 p.m. when the temperature was 48 degrees and falling. The area around the

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Eye Injuries – Prevention & Treatment

If eyes could see. Vision. We take it for granted until we have eye problems or suddenly lose sight in one or both eyes. As mountain rescuers, eye injury or loss of vision during a mission could turn a rescuer into another victim needing assistance. Self protection is vital for eyes and critical in many

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SAR Briefs Winter 2024

Linville-Central Squad wins Land Rover Defender Service Award Two MRA teams were finalists for the Land Rover Defender Service Awards that were announced in late November. Inyo County Search and Rescue in California and Linville-Central Rescue Squad in Avery County, North Carolina, were both finalists to win $25,000 and a new Land Rover Defender 130

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Letter from the Editor – Winter 2024

As we start a new year, and I reflect on the year that has passed, my 11th year in Search and Rescue, I am thankful for all that this community has taught me and ways in which it has helped me grow. I have learned so many things – from hard skills like building a

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MRA President Testifies at OSHA Hearing

Mountain Rescue Association President Mark Miraglia testified yesterday that a proposed Emergency Response rule from the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration would put unnecessary and burdensome requirements on SAR teams and recommended that OSHA remove wilderness technical search and rescue from the rule. Miraglia spoke at a hearing for stakeholders to provide

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