GROUND ZERO EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER FOUNDATION

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SEARCH AND RESCUE CANINE TEAM TRAINING PROGRAM PRODUCES HIGHLY SPECIALIZED SAR CANINES, VALUED AT $50,000, PLACES THEM WITH EMERGENCY RESPONDERS AT NO CHARGE, AND TRAINS THEM TO BE A TEAM. THE PROGRAM INCLUDES 18 MONTHS OF INTENSIVE CANINE TRAINING IN RUBBLE PILE, WILDERNESS, SCENT TRAILING, AND WATER RESCUE AND RECOVERY. TRAINING FOR SAR TEAMS INCLUDES STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE, SEARCH TACTICS, BASIC AND ADVANCED MEDICAL TRIAGE, RESPONSE TO ACTIVE SHOOTER INCIDENTS, HAZMAT, BASIC AND ADVANCED TECHNICAL RESCUE, AND MASS CASUALTY INCIDENTS. CANINES LEARN TO SEARCH, LOCATE AND ALERT WHEN HUMAN SCENT IS DETECTED AND ARE TRAINED TO IGNORE ALL OTHER SMELLS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY LEARN TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE SCENT OF THE FIRST RESPONDER AND THE VICTIM WHO MIGHT BE BURIED BENEATH THE RUBBLE. THIS SPECIALIZED TRAINING MEANS WHEN A TRAINED CANINE BARKS TO ALERT THE FIRST RESPONDER, THERE IS, IN FACT, A PERSON IN NEED OF RESCUING. CANINES ARE ALSO TRAINED TO NAVIGATE UNSTABLE FOOTING, INCLUDING COLLAPSED CONCRETE BUILDINGS WITH GLASS AND NAILS EVERYWHERE. OFF-LEASH TRAINING ENABLES THE CANINE, INDEPENDENT OF THEIR HANDLER, TO SEARCH THE SCENE OF A DISASTER MORE SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY THAN A HUMAN FIRST RESPONDER. IN 2016, THERE WERE ONLY 9 DOGS CERTIFIED IN OKLAHOMA TO RESPOND TO DISASTER EVENTS AND MOST WERE NEARING RETIREMENT AGE. OK TASK FORCE 1, COMPRISED OF EMERGENCY RESPONDERS FROM TULSA AND OKLAHOMA CITY, HAD BEEN ON A WAITLIST FOR OVER 3 YEARS TO RECEIVE NEW CANINES, PUTTING THE TASK FORCE TEAMS IN BOTH CITIES IN A DIRE POSITION. GROUND ZERO ENSURES OKLAHOMA EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ALWAYS HAVE THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF CERTIFIED SAR CANINES REQUIRED TO DEPLOY AND PROVIDES ADVANCED TRAINING AND CONTINUING EDUCATIONS FOR SAR TEAMS. GROUND ZERO'S PROGRAMS INCLUDE COMMUNITY EDUCATION PRESENTATIONS, DISASTER RISK AWARENESS, PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PRESENTATIONS IN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, AND ADVANCED SPECIALIZED SKILL TRAINING FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS.