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2005 News Archives
St. John Rescue News

 
St. John Rescue Logs 75+ Responses in 2005 - Bob Malacarne, Community Liaison officer for St. John Rescue announced to the group that over the past year, St. John rescue member have responded to over 75 incidents to provide emergency assistance. This figure does not include the many community events that the organization also assists with during the course of a year. The all-volunteer group's membership has been growing to meet the demand, but the public is urged to drive slower and be considerate of tourists who may not have the same fast reaction times when driving on the left. 
IProgress on Island-Wide Radio System - St. John Rescue members have had their radios programmed with the new island-wide frequency. With some repeater equipment up and operational, it is now possible for squad members to use the new frequency without having to share a frequency with St. Thomas Rescue or other organizations. Through the end of this year the implementation will continue with members using the new frequency whenever possible and reporting back to the organizations dispatcher and Communications officer, George Cline. "This is not a simple process - there is much fine tuning to be done on the system" said Communications Committee member Bob Schlesinger. See News Archives for more information on the major STJ Rescue project.
Flavours of St. John To Benefit St. John Rescue - The Rotary Club of St. John has selected St. John Rescue as the sole beneficiary of this year's annual Flavours of St. John fundraiser. This major island event is to be help on November 18th at the Westin Resort. Twenty of the island's finest restaurants will be out in force providing attendees with mouth watering delights for every palate. Tickets can be purchased from any Rotarian, at Connections, VIVA Villas, or at the door and cost $100/person. St. John Rescue is planning to use all proceeds from the gala event to benefit the community, via an ambulance vehicle for the Coral Bay area.
Bumper Stickers For Slower Driving - Island vehicles are beginning to sport a new look to match owners' attitudes as a result of St. John Rescue's campaign to get drivers to slow down. "Sail Fast, Drive Slow" is popular among boaters, while the more cryptic "I Guana Go Slow Don' Key Yourself Up" is island quirky. Others prefer the simple but direct sticker which also can be found on Rescue-1 itself: "Left Side - Right Speed". The organization is offering these bumper stickers free of charge to anyone willing to put one on their vehicle. To get yours, contact any St. John Rescue member, or visit Simple Feast, the VIVA! Villas office on the  3rd floor of the  Boulon Center in Cruz Bay.
SkyRepeater Is Proven Viable - St. John Rescue President Marty Alperen recently tested and published a paper concerning SkyRepeater, a communications methodology with practical applications in case of a dire emergency.

SkyRepeater  is  a communication method successfully demonstrated using readily available amateur (ham) radio equipment with minor modifications, mounted on a tethered helium-filled balloon or high-lift kite to establish ad hoc two way radio communications in remote areas, radio dead zones and in the case of a repeater failure. Tested on both VHF and UHF bands, one person can setup in 15 minutes. Cost is approximately $2,000.00. Minimum wind requirement is approximately 6 mph for a kite. Maximum wind for tethered spherical helium balloon is approximately 20 mph.

Marty is currently pursuing a Masters Degree at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School (www.chds.us)  and even while on campus is always considering the needs of the St. John community in his work. Click on photo or here for full white-paper on SkyRepeater.
Visit to Vendor Spurs Progress with New Radio System - George Cline, Communications Officer, paid a recent visit to the stateside vendor who supplies St. John Rescue with radio equipment. That visit along with persistent communications between the two groups  has resulted in the vendor sending an engineer to St. John this month to troubleshoot installation problems with the new island-wide radio system.

George Johnally from Rapid Wireless was able to assist St. John Rescue members in isolating many of the problems that have slowed down installation of the new system. Many thanks to Mr. Johnally for his hard work! He promises to come back to St. John someday to enjoy it on a more personal level.

As of early August, St. John Rescue had two repeaters up and running, and was actively working to resolve the remaining problems so the long-awaited system could go live. See related article below and the Past News Archives for more on this huge radio project.
Modular Spec Decided for Rescue-2 Alternative - Members of St. John Rescue went back to the drawing board in early July, to consider an alternatives to it's planned new  response/transport vehicle for Coral Bay. Four-wheel drive is considered a must for St. John's rugged terrain. The group was told by the bidders in the first round that this is no longer possible in a traditional ambulance. As a result of that information, the organization spent many hours to develop an alternative which will meet the needs of the community, be serviceable locally, and provide the flexibility and capability needs St. John Rescue members have prioritized.

The final solution is a high value/lowest cost solution - a slip-on truck body and a separate pickup truck. Both of these will hopefully be in place by start of the 2005-6 season - if the organization can raise enough funds for the purchases. See  http://www.cargobody.com/ambulance_etv.htm for more details on the  type of solution chosen.


Marine-1 Is A Welcome Addition - Thanks to the benevolent and gracious donation from the estate of Kip and Bruce Stewart, St. John Rescue is now the proud owner of a Rendova 18 foot rigid inflatable boat. We were shocked and saddened at the sudden passing of Bruce but feel that the addition of this (called Marine-1) will be a fitting tribute to a man who loved life and the water.

After inspection of the vessel a comprehensive list of necessities is being investigated to equip the boat for emergency medical service and small boat rescue. This will enable SJR to better service the outlying cays and waterways inside and outside the National Park boundries. Stay tuned for photos and updates to come.
Bids for Rescue-2 Replacement Under Review - St. John Resuce's R2 Committee is actively reviewing bids received to replace it's barely operational Rescue-2 vehicle. R-2, on 'life support' in the Coral Bay area through the dedication of our Coral Bay team, has become indispensable to the community. R-2 must have the ability to both transport patients and equipment too. Rescue-1 in Cruz Bay is an equipment-only vehicle and relies on EMS ambulances. Logistical considerations on the eastern half of the island preclude this luxury. Immediate transport can make the difference between life and death. While the old R-2 vehicle can handle patient transport, it is on it's last legs and not dependable enough for the needs of the island community. Donations to St. John Rescue can be earmarked entirely towards the purchase of a new Rescue-2 vehicle.  It is estimated that a new vehicle will cost approximately $75,000 before outfitting with gear!

Members Complete EMS Certification Training -  Five St. John Rescue members recently completed their local EMS-B Certification Training on St. John. This is the first time the course has been available on-island. The benefits to the St. John community are far-reaching and immediate. Special congratulations go to rescue members Mike Jordan, Wendy Davis, John Bowman and Darrell Tasman. the 155+ hour course was used Internet-based training techniques along with hand-on training. Class graduates must still complete their National EMS certification testing, scheduled for mid-April. Given the dedication and commitment from these fine individuals, success is imminent!
911 News for St. John Residents - St. John residents and visitors who have a cell phone can now dial emergency response services on St. Jon directly from their cell phones. The emergency number for 911 from a cell phone on ST John is 776-9110. Add the 340 area code, as needed based on your cell phone provider and service options. This number will take you directly to the St. John dispatcher. It's still good practice to let the dispatcher know you are on the island of St. John, though. You need to be able to tell the dispatcher where you are, how to get there, what has occurred and what type of assistance you think you need.
Sprauve School Students Learn First Aid -  St. John Rescue members Bob Malacarne and Karin Schlesinger continued student training at the Sprauve School this month, teaching both CPR and First Aid. Using moulage techniques, students were are getting hands-on training in how to identify the types of bleeding wounds and how to treat them too. "I thought the students might be afraid when they saw the spurting fake blood come out of my arm during the training, but they loved it - everyone wanted a turn to properly stop the "blood" flow", Karin Schlesinger said. Training continues during the month of March. 
St. John Rescue Supports 8 Tuff Miles - This year members were out in force along the race route for the Annual 8 Tuff Miles Road race on St. John, along with ARES and other other local organizations. A medical tent was be set up this year near the finish line, courtesy of Chelsea Drug Store on St. John. With almost 700 runners and walkers this year, the event is becoming one of St. John's premier annual events. Cool weather during race day helped to minimize incidents, though traffic control was difficult as usual. Because of the sheer volume of runners, traffic control has become critical to keeping the race safe for runners and volunteers alike. The VI Police are to be especially commended for their actions in making the roadways safe, and were are grateful for all the roadway drivers who had patience in getting to where they were going.
BVI Government Action Benefits St. John Emergency Communications - Permission has been granted to St. John Rescue by the Ministry of Communications & Works of the Government of the British Virgin Islands to install communications equipment (repeaters) for emergency purposes on CCT Boatphone towers in the BVI. A two-way relay site has been approved to reflect signals to/from the established St. John Rescue central repeater site on Mamey Peak on St. John from the CCT tower on Yost. This will eliminate 'dead spots" where communications is otherwise impossible on the north shores of the BVI, and also in key areas in the USVI, and of course, St. John in Particular. In his letter, the Ministry official noted this historic agreement is "bridging the divide in relation to emergencies" between our islands and our emergency organizations.

[Note: St. John Rescue is in-process of  implementing of an island-wide emergency communications system with complete island coverage - a tough goal given our rugged environment. This costly multi-year project is due for completion in 2005]

Colorado Visitors Provide High & Low Angle Rescue Training - A 12-hour training program for St. John Rescue and Water Island Rescue personnel was heldon January 13-14, 2005. This was the first formal technical rope training for the groups, and was led by Evergreen Colorado Fire & Rescue Volunteers Craig O'Connell and Richard Hanson (also a supporting member of St. John Rescue) A four-hour classroom session was followed  by an 8-hour hands on-session near Boatman Point and Hart Bay on the south shore of St. John. Practical skills learned are being put into use immediately on St. John thanks to the new rope and pulley system and other technical ropes equipment purchased recently by St. John Rescue.  "With our rough terrain, we can now approach victims more safely and have better options for assisting them" said  St. John Rescue member Bob Schlesinger. "A special thanks to Richard & Craig for getting us started in this critical skill set".