DFES USAR CANINE UNIT
Expressions of Interest
Expressions of interest are sought from people who wish to volunteer their time to join
the Urban Search and Rescue Canine Unit. We are looking to fill a number of volunteer
roles, each role having different requirements and required level of commitment. The
Unit is based at The Western Australia Fire & Emergency Services Academy at
Forrestfield, where we have our equipment cache and access to purpose built USAR
training facilities. We are part of the State Wide Operations Response Division
(SWORD).
The USAR Canine Unit exists to develop and maintain operational canine teams to
support the USAR Task Force in response to natural and manmade disasters. The Task
Force deploys in response to such things as earthquakes, cyclones and terrorist attacks
and major bushfires, deployment is normally intrastate, but if additional assistance is
required they will also deploy interstate and internationally. The canine teams are the
primary means of locating unconscious victims potentially buried below the surface.
Basic Training – The Bark Box
Applications close: C.O.B Friday 27th March 2015
DFES USAR CANINE UNIT
USAR Canine Unit Roles & Requirements
Role
Canine Hander
Required to have or
obtain a suitable
working canine
Canine Trainer
No canine required
Support Training
No canine required
Support Assessments
No canine required
Support Admin
No canine required
Requirement
 Daily canine training at home for first 12 to 18 months
 Weekly formal training with other team members
 Quarterly training with USAR taskforce
 Annual training with USAR taskforce – 24 to 72 hour
exercise, location and times vary
 As you progress, you must be willing to assist in training,
including presentation of classroom sessions
 Once qualified work towards becoming an assessor
 Attend the weekly formal training sessions to assist
handlers with any training issues
 Deliver classroom training sessions as per the training
standards
 Attend as many weekly formal training sessions as you can,
we would prefer to see you most weeks, but we will be
flexible
 Help prepare hides and training equipment
 Act as a casualty for canine searches in various locations,
including below ground and in confined spaces
 Canine understanding and empathy
 Ability build play drive in young canines and puppies
 Attendance two or three times a year
 Willingness and ability to climb into confined spaces
 Take part in assessments as casualties, assist in hide
preparation
We will soon become an independent unit so will need people
to fill other roles such as:
 Secretary
 Treasurer
 Team leads, the leadership roles will be drawn from current
or future unit members
Applications close: C.O.B Friday 27th March 2015
DFES USAR CANINE UNIT
USAR Canine Handler
USAR canines are trained to find live casualties in a wide variety of circumstances
including: collapsed structures, empty buildings, as well as vehicular accidents such as
train or plane crashes. The handler and canine will become familiar with rubble piles,
aircraft, working at heights, crowd work, marine travel and various other areas,
qualified canines will progress to become DAD qualified to allow passage on public
transport including airlines.
To become operational as a DFES USAR Canine Handler you will be assessed according
to the Australian USAR Canine Best Practice Guideline, which is endorsed nationally and
is internationally recognised. The Canine Best Practice Guideline is divided into three
levels; Foundation Skills (FSA), Basic and Advanced. These assessments include:
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Aggression Testing – Canine and human.
Obedience – Heelwork, down stay, direction & control and emergency stop.
Welfare Check – Handler to check canine’s physical condition under vet
observation.
Bark Alert – Focus bark indicating live human scent.
Agility – Various obstacles such as ladders, tunnels and planks.
Rubble Piles – Searches to find concealed casualties.
USAR canine training is demanding, expensive and technical. Successful applicants will
be expected to maintain skills, availability and commitment to the DFES USAR Task
Force in the medium to long term. Only applicants willing to maintain such a
commitment should apply. Applicants must be able to meet deployment requirements
for exercises and incidents at short notice. These deployments may require extended
periods of around 7 days away from your family. Applicants should discuss these
requirements with their families.
Hidden Casualty – Find wins a play this time
Applications close: C.O.B Friday 27th March 2015
DFES USAR CANINE UNIT
Required attributes are:
 Must meet requirements of DFES Unit such as police clearance, medical, with 3 to
6 months probationary period.
 This is a Metro based Unit so only people residing in a Metro location will be
considered for any of these roles.
 Handlers must be willing to commit to a weekly training schedule in negotiation
with the Canine Liaison Officer - CLO. (Time frame to be ready for FSA is on
average 18 months).
 Must not exhibit a phobia of confined space or heights.
 Must be a team member.
 Once qualified and accepted to become a member of the Task Force, must be
willing to deploy to disaster sites intra and interstate and live in camp like
conditions as required. Ideally be willing to deploy internationally, this is a
personal choice and will not affect your application.
 Must be willing to perform non-canine handling tasks, in support of the USAR Task
Force at exercises and operational incidents.
 Prior to certification, handlers must be willing to bear all costs of owning and
housing the canine. After certification the handler will receive full PPE (handler
and canine), travel crates, limited upkeep costs of canine, limited vet coverage and
DFES backed insurance.
 To have (or be prepared to get) your own canine, under 4 years old. The canine
must have a high play drive, be very agile, and be non-aggressive. The canine will
be continually assessed to ensure they will make the grade. If the canine is found
to be unsuitable the handler may opt to get another canine or stay and assist the
unit in another role.
 Trial Period: When an application is accepted, the applicant will be required to
undergo a trial period of 3 to 6 months upon CLO discretion. During the trial
period the applicant will be required to attend regular USAR K9 training and
become familiar with the K9 Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) to also meet required
training milestones as laid out in the training guidelines. Applications will be
successful at the discretion of DFES Rescue Manager Jon Broomhall and CLO Mike
Smale.
This casualty is not coming out to play so handler rewards
Applications close: C.O.B Friday 27th March 2015
DFES USAR CANINE UNIT
Application Requirements (all roles)
Any queries about this position, contact Canine Liaison Officer (CLO) Mike Smale on:
0428 102 114 or [email protected]
All applications must complete the expression of interest form, canine handlers and
trainers are expected to write two pages detailing experiences and what makes you
suitable for the role, all other roles can submit a one page summary of this information.
Once nominations are received candidates will be invited to an open day on 19th April.
This will be an opportunity to meet us and see what we do, observe operational canines
in action, ask questions and to take part in some confined space and raised level
activities – all potential handlers will be expected to take part in this and everyone is
welcome to give it a try. During the open day we will determine whom to invite on to
the next stage.
Following the open day there will be two weekends of classroom theory to start
everyone off on the same page, these sessions are for all roles and will be held on the
weekends of 06/07 June and 13/14 June.
Only people living in the Metro area will be considered for these voluntary roles.
Somewhere for the canines to rest when not working
Applications close: C.O.B Friday 27th March 2015
DFES USAR CANINE UNIT
DFES URBAN SEARCH & RESCUE TASK FORCE
CANINE UNIT EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FORM
Name:
Residential
Address
(Metro Only)
Work Phone
Mobile Phone
Home Phone
Email
Any relevant skills, qualifications, and experience in canine handling
Why do you wish to become a member of the USAR Canine Unit, and what pertinent
attributes do you bring to the team
Have you discussed the extra requirements with your family?
Yes/No
EOI Application for the following role
Canine Handler, Canine Trainer, Support Training, Support Assessments, Support
Admin
EOI Canine Handlers
If you have a canine, age, breed, why they would be suitable
If you do not already have a suitable canine are you prepared to get one?
Yes/No
Signature
Date
Have you completed and attached your written application?
Yes/No
Please mark your application “CONFIDENTIAL – JOB OPPORTUNITY 71/2015” and
email to: [email protected].
Applications close: C.O.B Friday 27th March 2015