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ICAR 2016 WELCOME 02 08 A Warm Welcome Medical Commission Bulgarian Red Cross President Welcome 10 03 Mountain Rescue Service in Bulgaria MRS at BRC President Welcome 14 04 Conference Programme ICAR President Welcome 18 05 Hotel Halls Map Terrestrial Commission 06 19 Avalanche Commission Exhibition Floor Plan 07 20 Air Rescue Commission Sponsors & Exhibitors
www.alpine-rescue.org / 1 A Warm Welcome/BRC President Welcome
Mag. Pharm. Hristo Grigorov, Dr.H.C. Vesselin Ganchev President of Bulgarian Red Cross President of Mountain Rescue Service at BRC
On behalf of the National Council of the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC), I have the pleasure and the privilege to welcome all guests and delegates to the 68th Congress of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue in Bulgaria. In a few days the Bulgarian Red We consider the selection of the Cross, the largest and oldest humani- Bulgarian Red Cross Mountain Rescue tarian organization in the country, will Service to host the annual meeting of be celebrating 138 years since its ICAR a great honor and recognition for foundation. We are proud that Mountain the professionalism and international Rescue Service is an integral part of our prestige of the Bulgarian mountain organization and that together we resist rescuers. the trials and challenges of life, and I wish you successful work and I assure continue to help people. you that for the Bulgarian Red Cross Many people owe their lives to this forum is an excellent opportunity mountain rescuers, who wear the Red to discuss and bring the focus of public Cross emblem with dignity, because attention in Bulgaria to the issues of humanity in the mountains requires more safety and reduction of accidents in the than charity and compassion, more than mountains. simple desire to help - it requires sacrifice.
2 / www.alpine-rescue.org MRS at BRC President Welcome
Vesselin Ganchev President of Mountain Rescue Service at BRC
Distinguished Board Members of ICAR Dear members and friends of ICAR, fellow-rescuers, Welcome to Bulgaria and to Borovets - the oldest ski resort in Bulgaria! Welcome to the Rila National Park, assistance in the mountains because, the mountain with the highest peak on above all, we are led by humanity. the Balkan Peninsula! Prevention is a key word in our It is an honour and a privilege for all daily work, especially when we refer to of us at the Mountain Rescue Service children and youngsters who are often at the Bulgarian Red Cross to host the unaware of the risks in the mountains. annual meeting of ICAR. And as you all know, that the most In this dynamic and rapidly changing dangerous mountain is the one that we world, more and more people are underestimate. My message to people is turning towards nature and mountains, to respect mountains, and get prepared where they seek adventures, do in order to spend a pleasant time there sports, and relax. This trend leads to and to return home, safely. an increasing number of people being Last but not least, a big thank you exposed to risk factors, thus creating a to all the family members who keep higher percentage of incidents. But this supporting us - mountain rescuers, is exactly why our job is of the utmost during our unpredictable and demanding importance, and therefore we continue missions. Without them we wouldn’t be serving. what we are. Our Mountain Rescue Service relies Thank you to all my colleagues in fully on the constant, 24/7 availability of Bulgaria for their unremitting efforts. trained and equipped mountain rescuers, Dear friends, I wish you health, good the majority of them being volunteers, luck and successful work! God bless our and committing their time to render noble duty!
www.alpine-rescue.org / 3 ICAR President Welcome
Franz Stämpfli Gebhard Barbisch President of ICAR President of the Terrestrial Rescue Commission
In the name of the ICAR Executive Board I would like to welcome you in Borovets Bulgaria. I’m looking forward meeting you during our annual convention and leading through our assembly of delegates. For the first time in its 68-year-history, Our number of members is steadily the International Commission for Alpine increasing. This is the success of the Rescue (ICAR) is coming to Bulgaria for good work, which is done in our bodies, its annual congress, hosted by the Red especially in the technical commissions. Cross of Bulgaria (BRC). We are very A big thank you goes to our Commission happy to be your guests in Bulgaria. Presidents, our Executive Board and our Our last congress took place in Killarney, office. Ireland. We keep the celebrating of the Like every year, the pre-conference 50th anniversary of Mountain Rescue workshop day offers interesting Ireland (MRI) deep in our memories. topics. The presidents of the different Thanks again to our Irish friends. commissions have prepared a perfect The work in the ICAR Executive program. I hope that you can participate, Board is very positive and the members give your thoughts and bring your input have great experience and are highly at the different posts or in the various professional. Our mission says: ICAR sessions. provides a platform for mountain rescue Honor where honor is due: The and related organizations to disseminate preparation and the organization of knowledge with the prime goal of this event was first class and the whole improving mountain rescue services and team in Bulgaria should accept our great their safety. It’s a worldwide organization respect. that respects its members and promotes Thank you all for the great work and international cooperation. I’m very pleased to meet you here.
4 / www.alpine-rescue.org Terrestrial Commission
Gebhard Barbisch President of the Terrestrial Rescue Commission
Dear Members of the Terrestrial Rescue Commission, dear Friends of ICAR and dear much appreciated Exhibitors!
This year the convention will be I am sure, it will be very interesting for organized by the Mountain Rescue all of us, when our friends present us their Service at the BRC. They have worked way of solving this problem. Let’s learn hard to prepare a perfect environment from the experience of all participants, for our convention. Intensive cooperation documented in their presentations or and the willingness to work together will shown on practical demonstrations. Our be the basis for a successful meeting in goal should be not to do the same error Borovets. twice. Eliminating all human errors in This year’s practical session is rescue operations may not be realistic, organized and supervised by the as we would have to stop all our missions Avalanche Rescue Commission. They just to avoid any possible errors. prepared interesting workshops together However, we should strive to extend with the other commissions. I am sure, the time between our errors. the demos and workshops which will be I am very much looking forward offered to you are beneficial to all of us. to meeting all of you again and I am This year’s main topic is „Search sure, that we will have a congress with function - Improving the Search before the good presentations and many positive Rescue“. All of us know how important a discussions and constructive interactions, good situation analysis is. This will be the so that we all can go home at the end basis of a good and hopefully successful with a full basket of new knowledge for search operation. the next search operation.
www.alpine-rescue.org / 5 Avalanche Commission
Dominique Létang Patrick Fauchère President of the ICAR Avalanche Rescue Commission President of the Air Rescue Commission Chief of the French avalanche association (ANENA)
Dear Members, Dear Friends, I am looking forward to seeing all of you in Borovets. I am very excited to discover a part of the Bulgarian mountains and meet the Bulgarian rescuers! In our commission we worked hard field in South Tyrol (from 5th to 8th of since the latest congress in Ireland. The May), and the prevention working group recommendation concerning “slalom held several “skype” meetings and is probing” was definitely adopted by the continuing to help all of us with the aim committee board in January. During the of improving prevention tools. year we organized several workshops Regarding the congress in Borovets, gathering international experts: one we have implemented some relevant in Davos concerning RECCO search workshops for the pre-conference day, strategies (under the umbrella of SLF and in the field (I hope we will have good the avalanche commission), another one climatic conditions!) with a system of concerning “Best practices in avalanche rotation between the different workshops rescue” (Stubai, from 25th to 29th of April), (as we did in Lake Tahoe). I am pretty which purpose is to obtain a worldwide sure you will appreciate! standardization of strategies, techniques I wish all of you, the commission and methods of avalanche SAR. The members, the organizers, the developers sub-commission of dog-handlers held an and the manufacturers a really rich interesting and serious meeting on the congress.
6 / www.alpine-rescue.org Air Rescue Commission
Patrick Fauchère President of the Air Rescue Commission
WELCOME TO BULGARIA! Dear members of the Air Rescue Commission, dear sponsors, exhibitors and manufacturers, dear guests and dear friends of the ICAR, Together with Bulgarian Mountain of all involved parties will be analyzed. Rescue Service to the Red Cross we are The aim is to find a generic, sound and looking forward meeting you and sharing safe procedure to excavate and / or with you some time during our annual extricate the patient while the rescue conference held this year in Borovets. personnel stays at all times attached to Our challenges: trying to find common the aircraft. (Helicopter Hoist or Human solutions to different operations, different External Cargo). Another goal will be the types of helicopters but with one common publication of a new recommendation goal: helping people in need and about the Human external cargo - guaranteeing the safety of our rescuers. Helicopter Hoist (HEC-HHO) equipment Our main topic for 2016: Decision and a safety card addressed to the public. making and human factors. In the Air The passion that livens up the Rescue Commission the main topic will rescuers, the devotion and desire to be reflected in our focus of the «Scoop carry out rescues are what drives the and run» strategy. In collaboration with members of ICAR. all other commissions, all aspects of Thank you all for your commitment, for this advanced extrication method with your participation and I wish you a fruitful high demand on the proper interaction conference here in Borovets.
www.alpine-rescue.org / 7 Medical Commission
Fidel Elsensohn, MD President of the International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine ICAR MEDCOM
Dear colleagues and friends, dear delegates! Thanks to the Bulgarian Red Cross and Mountain Rescue Team for their kind invitation to Borovets. The main focus of this meeting for guidelines to give advice to all members of our participants will be to finalize the rescue organizations dealing with injured recommendations: “Multi Casualty and ill people in the mountains. All papers Incidents in the Mountains and are published in highly recognized peer Remote Areas” and “Evidence based reviewed medical journals to reach the Recommendation of Canyoning Rescue”. highest level of acceptance in mountain Both Recommendations have been emergency medicine. discussed intensively during the 2016 Our recommendations cover a great Spring Meeting in Capetown. A long list variety of problems which are commonly of interesting short communications and faced by rescuers, as well as by the planning of the 2017 meetings in Italy emergency physicians called to accidents and Andorra will complete our very dense in the mountains. It is essential, that schedule. these recommendations are translated At the congress on Saturday and adapted to the local situation and morning, members of our commission national regulations to provide best will present the recently finished or support to all who need them. ICAR published recommendations and case MEDCOM consists of more than 60 reports to the entire ICAR audience. We experts (doctors and paramedics) from also participate at the pre-conference all continents, working in the fields of workshop on Wednesday. mountain emergency medicine and many The goal of ICAR MEDCOM, the of them will be present at this convention. medical commission of ICAR, is We look forward to meeting you in establishing recommendations and Borovets for a successful meeting.
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www.alpine-rescue.org / 9 Mountain Rescue Service in Bulgaria
Mountain Rescue Service at the Bulgarian Red Cross Mountain Rescue Service /MRS/ was established in 1933 and since 1951 has been in the composition of the Bulgarian Red Cross.
The beginning of mountain rescue in need for creating an organized mountain Bulgaria dates back in time and is linked rescue, following their immediate to growing interest towards mountains observations on rescue activities in the and development of mountaineering. French, Austrian, German and Swiss Ever since, the proximity of Vitosha Alps. mountain to the capital city Sofia has On December 15 1933, in Sofia and been attracting more and more people under the eaves of the first tourist society looking for the beauty, freshness and “Aleko”, Bulgarian Alpine Club, Bulgarian adventures in mountain areas. Tourist Union, Youth Tourist Union and On August 27 1895, upon invitation Sofia Ski Club established the Mountain from the famous Bulgarian writer and Rescue Service. A few years later an traveller Aleko Konstantinov, 300 people organization of rescue command was climbed the highest peak of Vitosha created, comprising of four rescuers Mountain – Cherni vrah. There, on and a doctor who were on duty during Vitosha top, they established the first weekends in three refuges in Vitosha. tourist society in Bulgaria, which was 1940 marked the beginning of the the dawn of the organized Bulgarian mountain tourism. The first shelters and refuges were built in the most frequently toured parts of the mountains Vitosha and Rila. With multiplying numbers of admirers of the enchantment of mountains and peaks, incidents during winter hikes began occurring. This was the time when the first recorded rescue actions appeared in the form of mutual assistance. At the end of 1933, several prominent Bulgarian mountaineers discussed in Sofia the
10 / www.alpine-rescue.org Mountain Rescue Service in Bulgaria
of Bulgaria, the Council of Ministers issued a special act on activities and development of MRS. Fruitful international contacts had already been established and active discussions for membership in ICAR started. In 1971 in Bled, Slovenia, MRS became a member of ICAR. This gave new impetus to the development of mountain rescue in Bulgaria - extending contacts and exchanging information on the work of leading rescue services, on partnership with Bulgarian Red Cross courses and training programs, creating Youth /BRCY/ which, by that time was links with manufacturers of rescue in charge of medical doctors within the equipment. Also training courses based rescue commands. on new programs and methods were The whole period was characterized initiated and conducted by experienced by the creative power of enthusiasm and and qualified instructors. affection of mountain rescuers towards In 1974 Austrian instructors assisted their work - to help those in need. Strong launching rescue missions including foundations were laid, which embedded dogs. Successful operations of dedicated sense of duty and voluntary commitment, handlers and rescue dogs, plus the regardless of difficulties and dangers. acquired skills to search for people buried The end of World War II shifted the in avalanches started being applied when scene of public relations in Bulgaria. providing assistance during disasters, MRS sought opportunities to continue accidents and catastrophes. The first existing in the newly altered environment. regular course for air rescue was held, In 1951, the Mountain Rescue Service which set the beginning of air assistance became part of the Bulgarian Red Cross. by helicopters in the mountains. Integration into this new family was With the support of many volunteer followed by years of expansion of the structure and the activities, with Bulgarian state also committed to the development of the MRS. In the 70s of the 20th century MRS operated 34 rescue teams, made up of volunteer mountain rescuers who were located in all major mountain settlements. After a massive winter operation on Vitosha to search for the Foreign Minister
www.alpine-rescue.org / 11 Mountain Rescue Service in Bulgaria
State support decreased substantially and additional financial resources had to be sought to secure prolonged existence and growth. Mountain rescuers’ indomitable spirit and dedication to the cause let them find modern solutions to strengthen the service. The very first General Assembly was attended by delegates from all rescue teams. At a later stage payment of assistance was introduced and MRS cooperation with insurance companies led to the creation of “mountain insurance.” The combination of those factors allowed continuous rescuers, the first permanent rescue base development of rescue teams, posts, “Aleko” was built on Vitosha mountain. and bases in Bulgarian mountains. More bases were constructed in Stara Today MRS at the Bulgarian Red Cross Planina and other Bulgarian mountains. unites more than 500 volunteer mountain The State was also supportive in rescuers who constitute 32 rescue teams establishing modern rescue bases in across the country, in addition to another main winter resorts - Bansko, Borovets 43 mountain rescuers - staff members. and Pamporovo. MRS operates a 24/7 emergency line Political changes in early 90s which is connected to the national confronted MRS with new challenges. emergency rescue system of Bulgaria
12 / www.alpine-rescue.org Mountain Rescue Service in Bulgaria
and the Unified European Emergency The rescue dogs handlers team Number 112. There are four constantly has at its disposal 22 trained dogs operating rescue bases in the large working effectively in avalanches, as mountain resorts of Bulgaria - Vitosha, well as during disasters, accidents and Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo. 9 catastrophes in Bulgaria and abroad more bases provide shelter and proper (major earthquakes in Armenia in 1988 conditions for mountain rescuers to serve and in Turkey in 1999). their duty. Today all of us - mountain rescuers The training center of MRS is from Bulgaria, and from rescue services responsible for certification of mountain around the globe, participants and guests rescuers in Bulgaria by providing a at the ICAR Congress, together we are system of basic and specialized courses. writing another glorious page in the 83 All rescuers undergo periodic inspection year old history of Mountain Rescue of physical capacity, technical skills as Service. It is a great honour to host the well as courses to provide first aid during 68th Annual Congress in Bulgaria and winter and summer season. Preparation a significant responsibility to advance of mountain rescuers is carried out by on the current opportunity and place 31 certified instructors. First aid trainings mountain rescue in the focus of public and assistance are implemented with the attention in the country. invaluable support of 23 medical doctors - mountain rescuers. Welcome and good luck!
www.alpine-rescue.org / 13 Conference Programme
Conference Schedule C Convention 2016 in Borovets Bulgaria ctober 18th, ESD