Search and Rescue Common Operating Platform (Local)

Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) involves the locating, rescue (extraction), and initial medical stabilization of individuals (victims) trapped in confined spaces. Structural collapse is most often the cause of people being trapped, but individuals may also be trapped in transportation accidents, mines, and collapsed trenches. Source:   FEMA 

However, all incidents start local and end local. SARCOP Local can be used to geo-enable first responders in the earliest phases of response and for more frequent small-scale incidents.

The SAR Common Operating Platform (SARCOP) is used by the National US&R System and hosted centrally for disaster response - hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and large building collapse incidents. It provides easy to use mobile and browser applications for first responders to map out where they have been and what they have seen. This is essential to wide area search operations.

SARCOP "Local" is a simple template that allows you to host some of the essential SARCOP applications on your own ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise for smaller local incidents. When you host SARCOP you are responsible for maintaining and sharing the applications with your stakeholders.

In the United States, for larger Type I and Type II incidents where FEMA and/or State US&R Resources will be needed, we encourage you to use the National SARCOP from  www.responsesystem.org/sarcop  from the very beginning of your incident.

If you did deploy SARCOP Local and realize that it will become a larger incident with State and/or Federal Task Forces, contact nsargc@publicsafetygis.org or reach out via NSARGC Teams to begin integrating with the National SARCOP.

Being able to identify and record the location of victims trapped in a collapsed structure or large disaster area helps the US&R teams to plan their search strategy (avoiding duplication of effort) and prioritize survivor needs, regardless of the magnitude of the disaster.

GIS-driven technology and tools are vital in efforts to speed up the search and rescue planning cycle, quickly getting teams into the field and ultimately saving lives.

SARCOP was created by the National SAR Geospatial Coordination ( NSARGC ) Group. If you are going to use this template, please join our Community to stay informed on updates to the tools and provide feedback for improvements. We meet once a month and distribute a newsletter to keep you up to date.

To deploy SARCOP Local you will need to sign-in with your own ArcGIS Online or Enterprise account with Editor, Creator, or GIS Professional  User Type .

Step 1 QuickCaptureProjects Page

 Go to https://www.arcgis.com/apps/quickcapture/projects 

Step 2 New Project

Step 3 Start from template

Search for "SARCOP Local"

Step 4 Organize Content

This process will deploy two primary components: a QuickCapture project and a simplified Tactical Dashboard. You will also have a SARCOP Feature Layer, Feature Layer Views, and two web maps. You should rename these items with your agency / organization in the title and manage sharing based on your audience. Note: the five or six characters preceding the Item name are the last characters of the original item's GUID. These characters act as a license plate allowing you to identify individual elements created by the solution, however, you will need to manually change them to reflect the new items created (i.e. change the first five or six characters to match the last characters of your new items) . You should also consider changing the item thumbnails to match your organization's branding and remove any reference to Training Only.

Step 5 Add Your Own Team Names

The project comes configured with a list of team names that match those in the National SARCOP. To add your own team name, you will need to edit the Team Name domain in the v9 Search and Rescue Common Operating Platform (SARCOP) Incident Feature Service master feature layer. Locate the master feature layer item details page, click the "Data" tab at the top, Click the "Fields" tab, and then click on "Team Name".

Confirm that the Layer is set to "SARCOP Waypoints" and then click "Edit" under the list of Values.

Depending on how you intend to utilize SARCOP Local, you can either keep the existing list of team names and add your own team names to the list, or you can delete the existing list completely and add only your team names.

To delete the existing list, click "Delete List" in the lower left corner of the List of Values page. You will then be taken back to the Data page where you will need to click "Create List".

To add team names, click "+ Add" under the list of team names and add both the display name and Code (stored value) (with no spaces) to the list. Repeat until you add all the team names that you want. Be sure to click "Save". This process is the same whether you delete the existing team names or just add to the list.

Once you complete this process for the SARCOP Waypoints, you will have to repeat each step above for "SARCOP Tracklog" using the same Team Names.

Step 6 Edit Data in Web Map

You can edit any of the data that you need to within the SARCOP Local QuickCapture Web Map. This web map has editing enabled for the SARCOP layers. This allows you to create Incident Areas, Branches, Divisions, etc. Additional information on editing layers in a web map can be found on the Edit features (Map Viewer) documentation page.

The QuickCapture Project allows first responders to capture search, damage, hazards, and incident support information. With a few quick taps, information is sent back to the command post for systematic planning and decision-making.

Step 1 Download - First Responders download the mobile application.

Step 2 Share - Share the link, project code, or display your unique QR Code to your SARCOP Local Project for First Responders. For more instructions see  Share QuickCapture project. 

Step 3 Capture - First Responders can sign-in (or use Hub Premium to share with 'Everyone') and start using the application to capture tracklogs and waypoints.

The SARCOP Dashboard allows those in the Incident Command Post to quickly scan incoming field data and generate situation reports. With near real-time access to accurate information, decision makers can be more proactive in planning and coordinating rescue efforts.

The Web Map Viewer allows you to quickly view and edit data coming in from the field. The web map viewer can also be used to create your own web mapping applications as needed.

All of the SARCOP Training Materials are provided publicly to the NSARGC Community free of charge. For more details see  www.responsesystem.org/sarcop .