Rossland Search and Rescue has had an active and adventurous summer from training in the South Valhallas, to rescues on Red Mountain and helping with wildfire mitigation throughout the West Kootenay.
The Rossland News contacted SAR volunteer Robin Beech who answered questions on what it’s like to be part of a Search and Rescue team.
Q1. How does one become a member of Rossland Search and Rescue?
Robin Beech (RB): Due to the pandemic we have not been taking new recruits recently since our training has been limited to only essential skills. Normally we have an intake process that involves an application and possibly an interview, then those candidates who the team believes would be an asset are invited to continue.
Several prerequisites are set, such as a basic first aid course etc. If those are met, then we enroll them in the Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) course taught by members of our team in cooperation with other local teams. Once the GSAR certification is completed, the candidate may be invited to join the team as a full member.
Despite what some people think, we aren’t only looking for people who are hardcore outdoors types. There is a fair bit of behind the scenes work in SAR such as administration, running to the store for some particular item in the middle of a task, or just looking after equipment. Not everyone needs to be able to hike through all terrain at any time of day.
We will be using our Facebook page to let people know when we are ready to run another intake.
Q2. Is it all volunteers? or are there some professional leads?
RB: Our team is 100 per cent volunteer. Most BC SAR teams are the same, but some do employ administrators to manage some of the overhead of paperwork etc. If a specialty skill set is required to assist a subject then occasionally a specialist may be contracted, but it’s surprising just how much skill and knowledge there is in the volunteer ranks.
Q3. What types of training do SAR teams provide?
RB: It varies from team to team, as each area tends to have different needs. Rossland SAR has people who participate in first aid, rope rescue, mountain rescue, helicopter rescue, winter travel, avalanche rescue dog, and communication teams etc. Other groups have teams with skills like swiftwater, tracking, ice rescue, etc. for example.
Rossland Search and Rescue (SAR) joined teams from around the West Kootenay to participate in an intense Mountain Rescue training course in the South Valhalla Mts in June. The five-day course was under the direction of mountain guide and technical rope rescue expert Kirk Mauthner. The Regional Mountain Rescue team is able to search and rescue anyone that could be lost, stranded or injured anywhere in difficult alpine environment. See Page 2 for story. Search and Rescue Photo: Benjamin Verliere
Q4. What types of calls do you respond to? and which is the most common?
RB: SAR teams are on call 24/7 to assist with many types of calls. Our most common requests come from the local police (RCMP in our area) to search for missing people, or assist with rescuing an injured person. We also get tasked by BCEHS (Ambulance), Coroner’s Service, etc.
We also assist municipalities and regional districts with delivering evacuation notices or other tasks such as sandbagging during the initial, emergent stages of natural disasters and emergencies.
Q5. Why did you join RSAR?
RB: I had a desire to give back to my outdoor community and it fit in well with my other volunteer position at the time as a ski patroller at Red Mt. Since then the patrol has become a paid job for me, but SAR is still a way to contribute to the community.
Q6. What do you find most rewarding?
RB: A combination of helping people and expanding my skills. It’s always a challenge, and I love to learn new things. Friendships and many stories come from the times that we train together and deploy on tasks. Sometimes the worst conditions make for good memories.
Q7. Not all emergencies end on a positive note, how do you deal with the tragedies and losses?
RB: While we don’t always get the outcome that we hope for, there is also a lot of value in helping families and friends find closure. Our provincial program also has a good support system of peer counseling to help team members process their reactions.
Q8. What does Rossland SAR do to engage the public and other SAR teams?
RB: Rossland SAR runs a Backcountry Awareness event in January at the base of Red Mountain that exposes attendees to some of the knowledge and skills that might help them make a bad day a little better. There are also people on hand to answer questions about what we do, how to get help from SAR etc.
One thing that I like to talk about is how the local teams work together to fill in gaps and bolster each other’s strengths.
We organise training that is open to members from all teams in the region, we help each other with running the basic GSAR course and when a call comes, we quite commonly work alongside members from several other teams.
The pictures from the Mountain Rescue training week are an example of this.
There were participants from four different groups there, and the Mtn Rescue and Helicopter Longline Rescue teams are regional initiatives.
The rescue from Red Mountain in July involved people from three of the local groups as well as BCEHS, and some assistance from the local Fire Department.
Q9. Can you share your thoughts, on just how important the SAR programs are to our communities?
RB: There’s a lot of value in SAR for our communities. The obvious highlights are reuniting friends and families, but I believe it’s also a safety net that makes it possible for BC and local towns to promote themselves as outdoor recreation destinations.
If there wasn’t a system in place and people were getting injured or lost and not being rescued, then the whole idea of adventure travel might become a little less appealing.
Many teams also run SAR prevention programs, and at the provincial level there is the Adventure Smart initiative that works hand in hand with SAR to educate outdoor users on how to stay safe in the outdoors with a goal of reducing call outs.
As much as we all love getting up in the middle of the night to go rescue someone, we still would be happy to see less people getting hurt or lost.
Read: FireSmart offers free wildfire debris drop off
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