DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 1997         TAG: 9709100501
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   48 lines

TEAM RESPONDS QUICKLY TO HELP FIND THE LOST

The next time a hunter gets lost in the Great Dismal Swamp or a child wanders from the safety of home, Craig Abraham's crew can be searching in less than an hour.

Though such emergencies are rare, a quick response is vital when they do, said Abraham, a Suffolk Fire Department captain and coordinator of the department's recently formed search and rescue team.

The 15-member team is the state's only paid rural search and rescue team willing to go beyond the boundaries of its locality, local and state officials said.

``We take great pride in the fact that we can get people out in the field . to get them out there in a hurry.''

The members have trained for about 50 hours for such missions, and they have bought special equipment to wear in the city's vast forests and in the woods and swamps of the national wildlife refuge.

Training is important when someone is lost in the wilderness, said Winnie Pennington, state search and rescue coordinator for the Department of Emergency Services.

``People don't realize search-and-rescue is a skill,'' Pennington said.

Capt. Jeffrey Messinger, the city's emergency services coordinator, said the team amazed instructors in training exercises in Chesapeake last spring. In a mock disaster, the members found and rescued a lost ``patient'' from the woods in less than an hour, he said.

Other teams took four hours or more, Messinger said.

He is pursuing grants for equipment and ongoing training. Last week, the department received $10,000 from the Beazley Foundation in Portsmouth.

Other teams throughout the state, composed wholly or in part of volunteers, will back up the city team, if needed. And Suffolk members may respond to emergencies in other parts of the state.

``People don't get lost every day,'' Pennington said. ``But when you need the expertise, you need the expertise.''

And with hunting season and cold weather approaching, Abraham's team is especially mindful of the need for a quick response.

``With a small child or the elderly, especially in winter, they have only a few hours for survival,'' he said.

Recently, the team was called to help search for a missing 4-year-old boy in Lee County. But moments before they were to leave, they were notified that the child had been found.

``That's the way we hope they all turn out,'' Abraham said.

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