Survival and Improvisation

Note: The following information is based on recommendations from the National Association for Search and Rescue's (NASAR) Fundamentals of Search and Rescue 2nd Edition handbook.

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this module, responders should be able to:

  • Survival Mindset: Define the "Positive Mental Attitude" (PMA) and explain how psychological factors influence field survival during an unexpected emergency.

  • Priorities of Life: List the physiological priorities of survival in correct order (Will to Live, First Aid, Shelter, Fire, Water, Food).

  • Improvised Shelters & Fire-Building: Identify shelter options and demonstrate fire-starting techniques using basic survival gear and natural materials.

  • Signaling & Emergency Gear: Utilize signaling tools (whistles, mirrors, elevated fires) and improvise equipment when standard tools fail or are lost.

1. The Survival Mindset & General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

In an unexpected field emergency, mental resilience is your primary tool. Fear and panic are natural physiological responses, but understanding how stress affects your body allows you to maintain control.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

General Adaptation Syndrome describes the predictable, three-stage physiological response the body undergoes when subjected to extreme physical or psychological stress during a survival scenario:

  1. Alarm Reaction Stage: The initial "fight-or-flight" response triggered by sudden danger. Adrenaline surges, heart rate increases, and senses heighten. While this boosts short-term speed and strength, it can impair fine motor skills and cause tunnel vision if panic sets in.

  2. Resistance Stage: The body adapts to ongoing stress, attempting to maintain normal function while operating under pressure. Energy reserves are consumed at an accelerated rate to cope with cold, fatigue, or fear.

  3. Exhaustion Stage: Occurs when stress is prolonged and physical or mental resources are completely depleted. Physical stamina collapses, decision-making fails, and vulnerability to environmental injuries like hypothermia increases dramatically.

Overcoming Stress with PMA

  • Positive Mental Attitude (PMA): Recognizing the onset of stress and maintaining a focused, deliberate mindset prevents you from slipping into the Exhaustion stage. A responder with strong PMA focuses on actionable solutions rather than panic.

  • The S.T.O.P. Protocol: Interrupt the Alarm stage immediately when lost or disoriented:

    • S – Stop: Sit down, stay calm, and regain emotional control.

    • T – Think: Assess your situation without acting impulsively.

    • O – Observe: Evaluate weather, terrain, daylight, and remaining gear.

    • P – Plan: Formulate a step-by-step survival strategy before taking action.

2. The Priorities of Survival

Survival requirements follow a strict physiological hierarchy. Managing these priorities in order prevents energy waste and critical environmental injuries.

  1. Will to Live & PMA: Mindset governs all actions. Panic leads to fatal errors.

  2. First Aid: Address severe hemorrhaging, airway obstructions, and environmental trauma immediately.

  3. Shelter & Thermal Protection: In extreme conditions, hypothermia can kill within hours. Protecting core body temperature takes precedence over food and water.

  4. Fire: Provides core warming, dries wet garments, purifies water, signals rescuers, and offers psychological comfort.

  5. Water: Humans can survive roughly 3 days without water, but dehydration rapidly degrades cognitive ability and physical stamina.

  6. Food: Humans can survive several weeks without food; obtaining food is low priority during initial survival scenarios.

3. Emergency Shelters & Thermoregulation

A survival shelter must protect against wind, rain, and cold ground conduction.

Shelter Construction

  • Location Selection: Build away from natural hazards (e.g., dead trees/hazard branches, floodplains, avalanche zones) and choose an area sheltered from direct wind.

  • Ground Insulation: Ground conduction strips body heat faster than air. Always construct a thick insulation bed of dry leaves, pine needles, or foam padding before lying down.

  • Improvised & Debris Shelters: Use a tarp, space blanket, or fallen timber framework covered with dense layers of leaf litter, moss, or evergreen boughs to shed water and trap body heat.

4. Fire-Building & Emergency Signaling

Fire and signaling tools bridge the gap between surviving an emergency and getting rescued.

Fire Construction

  • Combustion Triangle: Fire requires Fuel, Heat, and Oxygen. Gather fuel in three distinct sizes before igniting:

    • Tinder: Fine, dry materials that ignite instantly (e.g., dry birch bark, charred cloth, pine resin, cotton balls with petroleum jelly).

    • Kindling: Pencil-thin sticks and twigs used to build heat.

    • Fuel Wood: Larger logs that sustain the fire for warmth and cooking.

Signaling Rescuers

  • Audio Signals: Use a high-decibel whistle (three sharp blasts is the universal international signal for help). Whistles carry much further than the human voice and conserve energy.

  • Visual Signals: Use signal mirrors, bright tracking tape, active flashlights, or three triangular signal fires/smokes (thick green vegetation for white daytime smoke; dry fuel for bright nighttime flames).

This video gives you an idea of different ignition sources:

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