Cost
$X*
*Reduced rate when combined with the FUNSAR Educational Course [link]
Time to complete
32 Classroom Hours
8 Field and Exam Hours
Prerequisites
– FEMA IS-100*
– FUNSAR
– Wilderness First Aid (or higher) [links]
* – Free on FEMA’s web training
** – State Emergency First Responder card, Wilderness First Responder, EMT, National Ski Patrol’s Outdoor Emergency Care, or Paramedic; NOTE: this does not include nurses or MD
Who should attend?
All Operational SAR personnel who plan to have boots in the field or serve in a support or command level function of SAR.
Also, K-9 Handlers who plan to have their dogs certified for SAR work must first be certified as a SARTECH II. Those requirements can be found at NASAR.org [link].
The SARTECH II level of certification is the intermediate level for SAR personnel. This is Operations level and is recommended for any person who functions on SAR missions as field searchers. Persons who obtain this certification are to function within the limits of the certification described on NASAR’s website at [link][hot key to NASAR’s SARTECH II at www.NASAR.org] In addition to the information provided on the website, the NASAR course that prepares one to challenge the SARTECH II is Fundamentals of Search and Rescue.
This course will typically be taken over the course of 2 weekends: Friday Night, Saturday, Sunday morning. This will consist of 32 classroom hours with 5 intermingled hours of field work; to practice skills learned in the classroom. Students will spend the overnight hours in a shelter they build, as part of the instructional material. On the final Sunday, the exam will take place.
Students will need to bring items in a pack in accordance with the following list:
- Pack – 1
- Tarp – 1
- Quarters – 2
The SARTECH II examination consists of written exam and a practical exam.
Written Exam
- The written exam is now an online exam which includes around 100 questions.
- It is now an open book exam covering the candidate’s knowledge of search and rescue.
- A passing grade is 80% or above.
Should a candidate fail their first attempt, they get a 2nd attempt free as part of their course fee.
Topics included in exam
- NIMS Incident Command System
- Basic Survival
- SAR Clothing
- Improvising
- Environmental Hazards and First Aid
- SAR Ready Pack
- Personal Equipment
- Travel Skills
- Land Navigation & Orienteering
- SAR Resources
- Search Philosophy
- Search Tactics
- Handling Evidence
- Clue Consciousness
- Search Operations
- Tracking
- Ropes & Rescue Equipment
- Legal Aspects for the Searcher
Practical Exam
The candidate is required to successfully complete a five-station practical exam:
- Land Navigation
- Use of topographic maps and compass. Candidates complete a course over terrain commonly encountered in the operations area in a specified time frame, not to exceed 600 meters.
- Tracking
- Candidates identify and mark a footprint track left by the evaluator and follow the track to its end.
- Rope Skills
- Candidates demonstrate the ability to tie four basic knots and a harness with supplied rope and webbing.
- Route Search
- This station entails locating and labeling clues in a given area demonstrating the ability to detect 50% of the clues using a route search tactic.
- Area Search
- This station entails locating and labeling clues in a given area demonstrating the ability to detect 50% of the clues using an area search tactic.
Following any station failure:
- Only the stations that are failed need be repeated.
- Up to two failed stations may be repeated on the day of the original exam.
- If necessary, the re-testing may be completed at any subsequent SARTECH II evaluation.
- If the retesting is done within the one year of the original testing date, no additional payment to NASAR is required.
- However, a host organization may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of hosting the repeat examination. If an additional retest is needed, the NASAR fee is collected. (One NASAR fee covers the original test and a retest, if needed.)
Certification Levels SARTECH III through SARTECH I/CREWLEADER are a series of written and practical examinations that test the levels of knowledge and practical skills of SAR personnel. These examinations are based on the NASAR Certification Criteria for SARTECH. The SARTECH Certification Criteria were formulated by the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) and recognized by many states and agencies. They have also been submitted for review to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for their consideration in their standards development.
The SARTECH program is an evaluation process not a learning process. Candidates demonstrate basic SAR competency through written tests and practical skill demonstrations of search and rescue skills. Upon successful completion of the requirements, a certificate will be issued to the person by NASAR. This certificate does not constitute a license to practice the skills taught in a training program or to practice the knowledge and performance skills that have been evaluated. The certificate does signify that the person holding the certificate has met the requirements of established certification criteria and/or performance skill on the date indicated on the certificate.