Callout process

So how does the Inverness Coastguard Rescue Team get called out to an incident?

It all starts with a member of public spotting a person or vessel in distress at sea or on the coastline and them calling the Coastguard. This could either be, by the 999 phone system or via VHF radio on Ch16 or Ch70 (DSC). The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Aberdeen MRCC) would then decide which rescue assets are needed, given the casualty – is it a single walker or a cruise ship?, it’s emergency and location. If at that point it is determined that a land based search, rescue or observation is required in Inverness Coastguard Rescue Team’s area, then the team is paged. 

So the first thing the team members will hear is the rather loud beeping of their pagers or feel is the vigorous vibrating (if it’s set to silent). This means the team members stopping what ever they are doing if its possible, and making a phone call to Aberdeen MRCC to inform them, that they are responding and proceeding to the station.

Once the team begins to gather at the station, team members get kitted up with appropriate personal protective equipment, gather more information from Aberdeen MRCC about the incident and load any extra equipment required for the incident into the vehicle. Once the necessary number of team members for the incident are kitted up, then the vehicle leaves the station and proceeds to the incident location. From the this point onwards the team is in regular communication with Aberdeen MRCC primarily via VHF radio on channel zero (only lifeboats/coastguard/helicopters are allowed to use this private channel) or by mobile phone.

The whole process from the pagers going off to the vehicle leaving the station normally happens within 5 -15 minutes. If the incident requires a major search, then a search briefing maybe held before the team leaves the station. Some incidents will require most of the team (flood / cliff / search) and others (reporting/observation) may only require two or three members of the team.