After you have waited one half (½) hour for all block members of your assigned block or area to report, send out a search team comprised of minimum three people over the age of 12 to check on the people in your block that have not reported. This search team needs to be comprised of 2 searchers (preferably adults) and one runner. If your block is equipt with FSR radios (channel 7) use them. The searchers are to knock on the door of the non-reporting block member first. If no answer they should to try to yell or call into the home. In a disaster situation it is very possible that the home will be open or damaged. As the searchers call in they are to announce who they are and ask in a loud voice if anyone is home and what condition they, the residents, are in.
If the building is lightly damaged the searchers can go in to the structure to search for possible victims.
If the building is moderately damaged the searchers should not enter the structure unless they can do so without causing harm to come upon themselves or any possible victims that maybe inside, and then they should only enter the structure long enough to search and the come straight out.
If the building is heavily damaged the searchers should not, under any circumstance, enter the structure but should conduct their search verbally and by sight only. Any trapped victims that cannot free themselves should be left for a more capable search and rescue team.
While the searchers are going from place to place they should take note of and make an inventory of physical and medical conditions including food, water, sanitary conditions, and property conditions.
All structures should be marked either by the owners themselves or the search teams checking on non-reporting block members.
Using the appropriate 8 ½ x 11 card, flag, or ribbon mark the home, as close to the front door as possible:
Green - all is well
Yellow - need help but not an emergency
Red - immediate help or critical care is needed
Black - there is a deceased person(s) here
White - the home is vacant or nobody home
The black ribbon or card should be used in conjunction with any of the other four ribbons, depending on the situation.
All deceased persons should be left in place until a team from the medical or morgue unit can retrieve them.
All lightly injured persons should be encouraged if able to go to the nearest operations center where a first-aid station will be set up.
All injured people who cannot move themselves should be left alone until a more advance search and rescue team can help them.
All seriously injured persons that are in immediate need of help should be left in place and the runner should either notify by radio or run to the block captain to report the need for immediate assistance. Once the block captain has been made aware of the person(s) that need immediate help the runner again should either radio or run to the operations center to request immediate help for the person(s) in their block that need immediate help. The runner should use whatever form of communication and/or transportation that would be most feasible in the given disaster or hardship.
Time should not be spent trying to rescue trapped victims. The searchers should report what they have found as quickly as possible to the block captain and then to the area emergency leader so that help can then be issued to those most in need first and those less in need next.