Field Safety

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Compliance

Before you head out into the back country for field work UAF requires completion of this Remote travel emergency plan. I'm not sure current rules on this but IARC requires submitting this with the Travel Authorization. This document should be considered the minimum though (It is for your safety and also OSHA / other regulatory compliance). Feel free to supplement with additional documentation.

General

For people who aren't able to attend the Learn To Return etc. safety workshops, here are some links that are another way to get some of the information.

Worthy Training Goals

  • Annual Bear Safety Training & certification
  • Annual CPR Training & certification
  • Basic First aid or wilderness first aid every 3 years & certification
  • Swiftwater Rescue & certification
  • If you have had first aid or wilderness first aid training, you might think about picking up a corresponding ebook on the topic. Save the book to your phone and you will have an often with you handy pocket reference.

Aviation Safety

Broken out into its own article: Aviation Safety

Survival Gear

Bear Safety

A fish and Game video:

A video licensed for viewing (I think) by the Department of Energy about Polar Bear safety:

A paper on defensive use with pepper spray that is pretty good:

The references at the end of this Wikipedia page about bear spray are solid:

You may also know someone who has taken offline training and has material you can review like course notes from a Learn To Return class or a Joe Nava class.


Bear Safety Commercial DVDs

Shotgun Safety

Before you can check out a gun to take into the field you will need to take a shotgun safety course.
  • The minimum frequency varies by department but if you are not comfortable around or using a shotgun then I would suggest you take the shotgun and bear safety class annually until you are familiar with the safe operation of firearms and are able to consistently conduct your self in a careful manner in their presence.
  • In Fairbanks Joe Nava teaches a shotugn safety / bear safety course
  • In Anchorage the Learn to Return group teaches shotgun safety and comes to Fairbanks irregularly
  • The NRA can also supply you with additional instructors (if you aren't living in Fairbanks for example)

ATV Safety

Some decent videos here:

A US Government website about safe ATV use:

A safety course, recommended for all users:

Snowmachine Safety

Some of these are a bit dated but the concepts are for the most part good.
Skidoo / Bombardier Snowmobile safety:

Arctic Cat Snowmobile Safety (skip ahead to 2:18 to get through the cartoon start if it annoys you), first of three videos in the Arctic Cat film:

Lounsbury Snowmachine Safety website:

Cold Injuries

A key concept for cold injury prevention is exposure time. What is acceptable clothing for 10 minutes at -20F will obviously differ compared to 3 hours at -20F or 8 hours at 0F. You should also take your activity level into account. 3 moderately active hours such as a continuous snow-survey at -20F will require less clothing than say, a stand around type activity such as watching an operator drill holes in the ice or snow.

As far as medical awareness, these two documents are a good starting point:


For more on clothing choices and situations, here are some classic Army videos (some are better than others) and videos from other sources:

Hypothermia

From Wikipedia:
Mild
Symptoms of mild hypothermia may be vague with sympathetic nervous system excitation (shivering, hypertension, tachycardia, tachypnea, and vasoconstriction). These are all physiological responses to preserve heat. Cold diuresis, mental confusion, as well as hepatic dysfunction may also be present. Hyperglycemia may be present, as glucose consumption by cells and insulin secretion both decrease, and tissue sensitivity to insulin may be blunted. Sympathetic activation also releases glucose from the liver. In many cases, however, especially in alcoholic patients, hypoglycemia appears to be a more common presentation. Hypoglycemia is also found in many hypothermic patients because hypothermia often is a result of hypoglycemia.
Moderate
Low body temperature results in shivering becoming more violent. Muscle mis-coordination becomes apparent. Movements are slow and labored, accompanied by a stumbling pace and mild confusion, although the victim may appear alert. Surface blood vessels contract further as the body focuses its remaining resources on keeping the vital organs warm. The victim becomes pale. Lips, ears, fingers and toes may become blue.
Severe
As the temperature decreases further physiological systems falter and heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure all decreases. This results in an expected HR in the 30s with a temperature of 28 °C (82 °F). Difficulty in speaking, sluggish thinking, and amnesia start to appear; inability to use hands and stumbling is also usually present. Cellular metabolic processes shut down. Below 30 °C (86 °F), the exposed skin becomes blue and puffy, muscle coordination becomes very poor, walking becomes almost impossible, and the person exhibits incoherent/irrational behavior including terminal burrowing or even a stupor. Pulse and respiration rates decrease significantly, but fast heart rates (ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation) can occur. Major organs fail. Clinical death occurs. Because of decreased cellular activity in stage 3 hypothermia, the body will actually take longer to undergo brain death.
 Youtube Links:

Frostbite

From Wikipedia:
At or below 0 °C (32 °F), blood vessels close to the skin start to constrict, and blood is shunted away from the extremities via the action of glomus bodies. The same response may also be a result of exposure to high winds. This constriction helps to preserve core body temperature. In extreme cold, or when the body is exposed to cold for long periods, this protective strategy can reduce blood flow in some areas of the body to dangerously low levels. This lack of blood leads to the eventual freezing and death of skin tissue in the affected areas. There are four degrees of frostbite. Each of these degrees has varying degrees of pain.
First degree
This is called frostnip and this only affects the surface skin, which is frozen. On the onset, there is itching and pain, and then the skin develops white, red, and yellow patches and becomes numb. The area affected by frostnip usually does not become permanently damaged as only the skin's top layers are affected. Long-term insensitivity to both heat and cold can sometimes happen after suffering from frostnip.
Second degree
If freezing continues, the skin may freeze and harden, but the deep tissues are not affected and remain soft and normal. Second-degree injury usually blisters 1–2 days after becoming frozen. The blisters may become hard and blackened, but usually appear worse than they are. Most of the injuries heal in one month, but the area may become permanently insensitive to both heat and cold.
Third and fourth degrees
If the area freezes further, deep frostbite occurs. The muscles, tendons, blood vessels, and nerves all freeze. The skin is hard, feels waxy, and use of the area is lost temporarily, and in severe cases, permanently. The deep frostbite results in areas of purplish blisters which turn black and which are generally blood-filled. Nerve damage in the area can result in a loss of feeling. This extreme frostbite may result in fingers and toes being amputated if the area becomes infected with gangrene. If the frostbite has gone on untreated, they may fall off. The extent of the damage done to the area by the freezing process of the frostbite may take several months to assess, and this often delays surgery to remove the dead tissue.
Youtube Links:

Cold Water Safety

(Less time invested in this section)
Youtube Links:

Other

If you've never filled a backpack before or aren't sure where to get started on how to fill your daypack for a day in the field here are a couple of youtubes:

Another good item is the Alaska Safety Handbook, co-written by ConocoPhillips Alaska, Eni Petroleum, ExxonMobil, Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska, Shell Exploration & Appraisal here's a link to the 2010 edition:

UAF Safety site

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