The Central Okanagan Search and Rescue is looking forward to recieving their allocated funds after the province announced it’s giving B.C.’s search and rescue volunteers $18.6 million.
President of COSAR, Dan Schlosser said that he does not know how much money they will recieve however he knows exactly what he will do with the money.
READ MORE: Province announces $18.6 million for B.C. Search and Rescue
“It will depend on how much money we do get but we are looking at upgrading our building or moving into a new one. Ours is dated, we would like to get some new equipment and replace some that is not so new,” said Schlosser.
“We will also be providing more ongoing training, and focus on training to help people that are going further into the woods.”
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READ MORE: Busy year for Central Okanagan Search and Rescue
The funds will be divided betweeh 80 search and rescue groups acoss the province that are made up of 2,500 volunteers and respond to 1,700 calls per year.
COSAR responds to approximately 55 calls a year on average with a team of 50. Schlosser said that anywhere between 12 and 16 volunteers will work together on a single call.
READ MORE: Funds available for neighbourhood projects
“There are a lot of people out there getting lost, you can’t put a price on people’s lives and each one of us in the province is a volunteer. We can’t be doing this out of pocket,” said Schlosser.
-with files from Ashley Wadhwani
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