Geez, that's not exactly what I expected or wanted to hear from the S&R Committee of the TSA. Cave rescues are emergencies you prepare for ahead of time, make contacts with the various emergency response groups in the principal caving areas of the state, and have current call-down lists for the appropriate folks that are readily available to cavers and spelunkers( I don't think the latter should suffer just because they're not near the hearts and minds of the caving center of the universe).
Sounds like Austin and maybe San Antonio have their bases covered, but what about other areas of the state? It's Saturday night at Deep and Punkin and someone has a broken leg and bleeding internally. The Del Rio fire department is your only recourse? Hope the Austin NCRC guy is home and sober ? Or any of your buddies that your adrenalin and fear addled mind can think up at the moment ? No, I think the TSA can do better than that. There's been some discussion of late as to how the TSA serves or can better serve the cavers of Texas. I think this is a great opportunity for the TSA to step up and make a significant contribution to the caving community. Who knows, it might be your butt that needs to be rescued. Jerry Atkinson. Sent from my iPhone On Aug 3, 2014, at 3:13 PM, David Ochel via Texascavers <texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote: > Hi again, > > Here's the deal: > > These numbers are those of cavers who have volunteered to be a contact > person in their region if there is a need for *caver assistance*. (I > have not checked in with these people in a while about this -- if Jill > keeps publishing them I probably should. ;-)) > > For a lack of better definition, let's define caver assistance as > helping out a caver in need if there is no potential for a situation to > develop into a true emergency that might endanger somebody's life and > limb. If there is such a potential, then I wouldn't want to be the > person who gets asked "why didn't you call 911?" after my friend dies in > a caving accident. > > If there is need for a *rescue*, call 911 first and then call your caver > friends so that they can come out and offer their assistance to the > responding authorities. > > As far as those numbers go, I am told that there used to be stickers > with the numbers printed on them distributed by the TSA for people to > stick into their helmets. I have a task from the TSA to look into > re-establishing those stickers, and I have been dragging my feet on this > for a while, for a number of reasons: > > 1. I, personally, would think that if you are a caver that's part of our > "organized" caving community, you would know who you can trust and call > for help if you need to. If you are a "spelunker" and don't know what > you are doing in the first place, then you should call 911 and not have > the expectation that random cavers you've never met will come to your > rescue if somebody is about to die from hypothermia. > > I have only been involved in Texas caving for 8 or so years, but I think > there used to be a stigma against any dealings with "officials" here > that -- in my experience -- doesn't seem to be justified these days? At > least in Austin, we have a good relationship with the fire department > that has involved joint cave rescue trainings between firefighters and > cavers, etc. in the recent past. > > 2. Phone numbers are ephemeral. They change, more or less frequently. > People go on vacation, have their phones turned off, or occasionally > aren't interested in caving anymore. I have not yet found a free > solution for forwarding one persistent central phone number to a list of > configurable numbers, for example by choosing from a phone menu. (If > anybody knows one, let me know.) > > 3. Everybody has a cell phone these days. Why would I not program these > numbers into my cell phone instead of carrying a sticker in my helmet > that might be outdated half a year from now? > > So, that said, I'd welcome any and all opinions on this topic. Maybe > somebody can think of a better solution that I haven't been able to come > up with yet? Or convince me that those stickers are still a great idea? > > (And yes, the TSA website is current. If you have questions, concerns, > ideas, etc. regarding "safety and techniques", which I suppose includes > the topic of cave rescues, please feel free to call or email me! :-)) > > Cheers, > David > > On 8/3/14, 11:40 AM, Mimi Jasek via Texascavers wrote: >> In last issue of TC I have, this is what was posted by county. >> >> Bexar 210-326-1576 >> >> Collin 214-202-6611 >> >> Hays 512-393-9054 >> >> Sutton 325-387-3424 >> >> Travis 512-663-2287 >> >> I would imagine calling the closest one could get you info on cavers close >> to whatever rescue area you need. Hope this helps. >> >> Also, don't know if this is current, but TSA website shows David Ochel as >> safety and techniques chairman at saf...@cavetexas.org. >> >> Mimi Jasek >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>> On Aug 3, 2014, at 9:09 AM, Bill Bentley via Texascavers >>> <texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote: >>> >>> Greetings Cavers... >>> Is there a call out number for Texas Cave rescue? >>> Besides 911, is there a main number and person or entity to call in the >>> event of a cave rescue in the state? >>> To be a little more specific, is there one for the Southwestern part of >>> Texas? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Bill >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com >>> Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: >>> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex >>> http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers >> _______________________________________________ >> Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com >> Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: >> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex >> http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers >> > > -- > David Ochel -=> http://blog.ochel.net <=- > _______________________________________________ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
