Wessex 4x4 Response advise prior to application

Please read the following then compete the application form, to be either an operational or support member.

Thank you for considering membership of Wessex 4x4 Response.

There are two types of membership open to you Support and Operational both are of equal importance

As a support member you will be a valuable asset to the organisation. Depending on the time that you have available you may simply support by assisting with fundraising or you may spend much of your time supporting the organisation by attending meetings, acting as a callout controller and much more.

As an operational member, you will be asked to undertake a few basic assessments of your map reading / navigation capabilities and to check the capability of you and you and your vehicle on surfaced and un-surfaced roads. Your vehicle must also be maintained to MOT standards.

To ensure, as much is reasonably practicable, that you are a safe and competent driver you will be asked to prove that you have possessed a driving licence for at least three years and have no more than 6 penalty points.

You may be called on at any time to assist with any incidents to which Wessex 4x4 Response has been called by recognised Emergency Services or other voluntary agencies, these may occasionally be in counties outside of our normal operating area.

We will not normally act as a first response agency.

Throughout the year, we will expect you to take part in ongoing training which is mainly on a peer-to-peer basis, such training may be in the form of interactive learning and / or exercises either between ourselves or in conjunction with other agencies and charities.

The information below is a brief summary of the information that is available in the members' area it should be considered a guideline and the minimum that should be done on any call-out.

The sentence in blue advise what you should do or can expect to happen. The sentences in red will give an explanation of why the guideline is there..

Calls to the charity are via a YAC number of 07092262428, which you are welcome to give to family members and employers for use in emergency.

This number hunts between 3 duty callers and therefore we can be relatively certain that somebody will answer it even if one or more are unavailable.

The person taking the call will in the first instance act as a Silver controller with the authority to initiate a call and speak on behalf of Wessex 4x4 Response. He/She may relinquish the role at the earliest opportunity if they wish.

This will give the calling agency a named individual with whom to maintain contact but by using the YAC number we can seamlessly pass the work from one controller to another in our virtual control room.

The person taking the call will start an on-line log which will be available to members by following the attendances link on the webapage

This will give the membership in general and other controllers in particular information of the incident (some details can only be viewed by controllers). We can never be sure how long an incident will last so if sending relief crews they will be able to familiarise themselves with details.

You will normally be called by a text (SMS) message to your mobile phone requesting that you advise IF available and your location. Ideally the first message will be a standby rather than a callout

The SMS system ensures that all members are aware of an incident and the location, as you may not be at home and thus closer to or further away from the incident than anticipated. It also enables those not required in the first response to be prepared and aware of the unfolding events. An early warning asking us to standby gives members a chance to refuel their vehicles and ensure that all appropriate equipment is on board.

As you maybe called out at anytime you are asked to ensure that you ALWAYS have enough fuel to complete a round trip of at least 100 miles

We operate in some large counties and it is not always easy to find a garage especially an night or weekends.

It is also strongly recommended that you take the time to make a flask of hot drink and prepare a sandwich or similar, you may be away from home for some time.

Our aim will be to ensure that at any major incident you will be fed by the calling agency but this cannot be guaranteed.

Always remember that you are a VOLUNTEER and if you feel that either you or your vehicle is not capable of carrying out the task required please feel free to say so at any time.

Different vehicles & drivers have different capabilities, it is much better NOT to attempt something that you know is beyond you or your vehicle than to attempt it & then require extraction by others.

If you have a CB radio please use Channel 22 (UK) for communications unless advised otherwise, those members with amateur radio licences are asked to tune to any channels that may be allocated on the day. We have a close relationship with RAYNET in some counties so it is possible that you may find yourselves talking to RAYNET operating on behalf of the calling agency.

The reason that we use CB and/or Amateur radio is that Mobile phones may not work at the time due to power cuts or simply because we will be remote from masts etc.

You will be expected to take instructions from the duty controller or controlling agency (i.e. Police Fire Ambulance etc.) depending upon the size of the incident.

Usually we will have a member on the scene designated as either “Bronze” or “Silver” who will command the Wessex 4x4 Response members and liaise with user bodies but this may not be the case if the incident is particularly small or over a large area, perhaps due to snow when you may have a member of one of the emergency services on board who will request you to carry out tasks. You however are the ultimate decision maker.

When on Wessex 4x4 Response duties please ensure that you & your vehicle are identifiable, uniforms and vehicle logos are available from the secretary. A high visibility waistcoat or jacket,(both of which will be issued to you for the period of your membership) MUST be worn when working on or near the highway or in the prescence of other vehicles. Please note that even when assisting the Emergency Services you do not have the same rights so should always drive within the speed limit & prevailing road conditions.

This is both for your safety and identification purposes. Remember that your safety is paramount.

When you arrive at an incident please you make yourselves known to the agency calling us, i.e Ambulance, County Emergency planning WRVS etc. as soon as possible after arriving at the scene.

This is to ensure that they know that we have arrived and they will then update their controls.

The normal MINIMUM call out will be five vehicles and their drivers. Two pairs of vehicles plus a local 'Bronze' Controller, this vehicle can also be used or short-term storage at the rest-centre or incident control.

Our vehicles should ALWAYS operate in pairs as we will almost certainly have been called due to adverse weather or terrain. An onsite 'control' can ensure that the wellbeing of our members remains paramount and will liaise with the calling agency and others to ensure that resources continue to be available as the incident develops.

Larger incidents may result in more vehicles being called out and if necessary the DUTY CONTROLLER will attend in person or assign that role to a unit on site.

This will be a member who has been identified as having the necessary skills to ensure that the requisite skills are present on the scene.

The first units called to an incident will normally be the GEOGRAPHICALLY CLOSEST vehicles capable of carrying out the requested task. When assigned to a task you will normally be asked for an ETA, on arrival at the scene of an incident you MUST advise the DUTY CONTROLLER via 07092262428 that you are on the scene, and should keep him/her fully informed of events.

This ensures a quick initial response, that the calling agency is kept informed of our anticipated arrival time and that we have all relevant information should a partner or employer be concerned for your welfare. It also enables us to give any information should there be a call from other agencies for assistance, i.e. to prevent so called “double-calling”.

If at any time you think that further assistance may be required please notify the controller as soon as possible. You cannot have TOO MANY units but you can have too few called to an incident/event, or other members may have equipment that was not available to the initial response..

The decision as to how many units will be deployed rests with the [silver] controller but he/she is expected to take advice from the the units on the scene, which may or may not include a number of Bronze controllers. We should however always be in a position to react to additional requests at the scene.

When leaving the scene please advise the Control of your ETA back to your 'home address' and whether the incident may be considered closed. As a final closure please confirm that you have arrived safely 'home'.

This ensures that we can safely say that everyone is safe and the incident is closed.

At all times when you are working in any role for Wessex 4x4 Response we expect you to act in a professional manner and do nothing to bring the organisation into disrepute.

Any actions (or inactions) which in the view of the committee, could bring the organisation into disrepute may result in suspension or termination of membership.

If you would like to join please remember that there is a ten pound joining fee plus an annual subscription of ten pounds. Applications after September 31st will run to 31st December of the following year.

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Updated 02nd November 2008