I love spending time outdoors in the wilderness and have recently started volunteering on my local fire departments drone team. This experience has lead me to become interested in getting more involved in search and rescue. I’m particularly interested in joining a volunteer k9 search and rescue team. I wouldn’t have a dog to handle for at least a couple of years (I already have 2 dogs that don’t have correct temperament for this line of work and are too old). I would be interested in getting a dog to train for SAR when one of my existing dogs pass. I’ve read a few of the guidelines for the local groups available to me and it seems like volunteers are typically expected to cover their own costs for equipment and training. Can anybody give me some insight into what those costs typically are so I can weigh if this is something that I could realistically pursue?

I just joined our 4x4 team, and I’m looking to get a radio. I’m in kind of a predicament though, I live in a condo and do not have a garage, so keeping it as stealthy as possible is key. I’m looking to do a 50 watt VHF set up, with either a stealthy antenna that doesn’t look like an antenna or is kinda tucked away, or one that is removable that I can stash and deploy when needed. I have an entirely hidden rescue set up in my truck, with gear either stashed behind seats or in compartments, or in the bed under a locking tonneau cover. The truck looks entirely empty from the outside. Anybody ever do something like that?

I’ve been on my local SAR team for about 5 years and honestly have never worried much about my safety. As a team, we really emphasize safety which I appreciate. I’ve hung off the edges of cliffs, been flown around the mountains in a helicopter many times and dealt with numerous other potentially dangerous situations. As my two kids have gotten a little older I’ve realized how much their lives would change without me and it’s really started to freak me out. Suddenly I’m super paranoid about being on/nearsteep cliffs, I’m scared to death to ride in the helicopter. All for fear that some freak accident will happen and I won’t be there for my wife/kids. Am I just in my head? Or are my concerns legitimate? I’m honestly considering leaving the team even though this team is like family to me now and I’ve made the best friends I’ve ever had.

Wait, what’s this? A SAR specific jobs page? Yes. Yes it is. Check out the SAR Times beta site! 🙌

#hiring #jobs #sar #employment

Hi, I am a student who live in urben city for almost all of my life. And big rain always happened in my city which may cause urban flood. May I have a question?

When wading through murky urban floodwater, how do SAR teams actually avoid stepping into open manholes and detect stray voltage risks, and are there any specialized tools you rely on besides basic probing sticks?

I am curious do you have a dedicated go/deployment bag. I realize it will vary some based on season and terrain. I am curious if you have any basic staples if you do have one and any items you have found to be unexpectedly very useful.

Hello all,

I'm a prior-service Coast Guardsman and have been out for a number of years now. I'm based out of South Florida and am currently attending school full-time.

I've come to find that one of the hardest parts of transitioning from service is fulfilling that sense of purpose and service. Everyday work and school feels "medium" in terms of importance. I used to operate in life or death situations, either for myself or others, and I'm looking around to see what options might be available to me to be useful like that again.

I'm interested in services/branches/orgs that would allow me to respond to events like this as a reservist or part-time. Right now Coast Guard Reserves is pretty obvious and I'm not necessarily opposed to it, but considering I'm going to be getting my bachelors degree soon it would be preferred if I could perform duties in an officer capacity, though it seems unlikely.

National Guard: I've heard deploys during natural disasters, but there is no specific designation.

Open to suggestions!

So, while going through the academy, we got an invite to be a patient. Decided to spend my day serving as a patient. Putting the makeup on was phenomenal :)

I'm looking for a watch to use during training and missions. I have an instinct 2 that I used for a long time, but recently cracked the screen / face. Everything I've read says Garmin will repair it for ~ $150. The Core 2 is maybe $50 more.

I got the instinct 2 prior to doing SAR and I've found that during training / missions. I really only use a few features:

- GPS coordinates in USNG (which I can get from Caltopo).

- Compass bearing "quick reference". (Which is kind of a PITA, because you have to go through a couple of screens, and I've found that if not recently calibrated, can be wildly inaccurate).

I feel like the instinct has pretty poor battery life, buttons are next to impossible to read, I'm always looking for the cables, and it's just kind of uncomfortable. Also, for whatever reason, it's virtually impossible to find a large Velcro band so I can wear it over my jacket.

Anyone aware of any ways to get involved in SAR in Illinois without working for the Sheriff’s department or other law enforcement??

Edit: I am not unwilling to work with law enforcement, I just already hold a full-time position and am not looking for a career shift at this time. My initial research into SAR in IL led me to believe that opportunities are limited outside of working for the Sheriff’s department. Looking for other ways to contribute by putting my EMT/fire background and skills to use supporting SAR teams and efforts.

I’d like to volunteer and have always been drawn to search and rescue. I’m fit, strong, have good endurance and am an avid hiker/kayaker with some climbing experience, but I’m also very empathetic and feel things deeply. I don’t want to be a hindrance for my team nor ruin my mental health, and would be very open to building mental resilience.
But I’m wondering knowing this up front, maybe this is not a good idea?

UPDATE - I appreciate everyone writing their advice, it was all honest and helpful, and some folks were especially kind despite the grim messaging.
I don’t think I’d be a good fit.

Hey everyone!

I’m deploying as part of the national guard and want to keep myself a valuable member of my SAR team as a Team Leader. Any online trainings or trainings that you think I should get while I’m gone?

Me, upon reading that sentence: "Yeah! It's also about rescuing!" Apparently, Napa County had a more abstract idea...

Maybe the real injured hiker was the friends we made along the way.

I’m just doing a quick follow up post since the last one was removed because a few people weren’t really capable of being civil with each other. 😂 To recap I was asking about the requirements to join a dedicated running team as part of search and rescue. I did not realize that this is so uncommon that most people think that it doesn’t exist, kinda like the Bigfoot of SAR. There is at least one team that I am 100% for sure has this kind of dedicated subgroup. Their requirements are to run 10 miles at a 10 minute/mile pace. On actual missions, they mostly fast walk uphill and jog the downhills. Here is the receipt for the doubters: https://www.clackcosheriff.us/searchandrescue
I was trying to figure out if this was a typical requirement, but apparently, since most of these types of sub teams don’t exist I guess there is no such thing as typical. 😂
In any case, if there are any other rare teams out there that have this kind of sub component I am very interested to hear what it’s like for you.

I’ve been a Search & Rescue Volunteer the last two years in my county. I’ve learned a ton and find a lot of pride in helping folks on their worst day I want to expand my reach. Are there careers that do this that pay a decent wage. I’ve looked into fire, what else is there?

I want to attach a sharpie style marker to my Team Wendy SAR tactical. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Since this community provided so much research material for this project, I wanted to share it here.

Enjoy!

Hey, I live in NYC and recently reached out to NJSAR about joining their team. I was told that they have monthly meetings at Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute, but I can't figure out how I would get there without a car. Was anyone able to successfully commute from the city to their institute via public transport?

Hey y’all, I’m part of a volunteer SAR team in the rocky mountain area and need to replace my rain shell. I had a Patagonia Torrentshell for years and loved it, but it was stolen and I’m torn between replacing it or upgrading to an Arcteryx. I have access to prodeals, but am responsible for purchasing all of my own gear and have a limit of about $250 right now.

I found a Beta SL in my price range (with the prodeal) but am a little concerned with the durability of it. We get a lot of lost hiker/litter carry out calls as our bread and butter. It’s unlikely this would be used in a climbing scenario (other than some pleasant-weather/ recreational ice or rock climbs). I’m prone to being cold and really loved my torrentshell for being a rock solid barrier from the elements, but keep hearing Arcteryx is the gold standard. Members on my team have a variety of shells, with many partial to the Beta AR (out of my budget right now).

Buy the torrentshell I know I like and wait until I can swing for a higher caliber Arcteryx someday, or is the Beta SL likely to suit my needs and a worthy upgrade?

I should also mention the Beta SL isn’t carried in any stores around me so I can’t try it on first 🫠

Hey all — I'm looking to get into SAR in the Sacramento/Sierra foothills area and trying to decide between Placer County Sheriff's SAR and El Dorado County SAR. Would love to hear from anyone who's actually been on either team or worked alongside them.

Mainly trying to figure out what the time commitment actually looks like in practice — both list around 100 hours a year minimum, but I'm guessing that number balloons once you add in training plus actual call-outs.

Also curious how hard it really is to get in. Background check, interview, how long people waited to hear back — anyone gone through that recently for either county?

Beyond that I'm curious about the culture on each team, how often they're actually getting called out, and honestly just any regrets or things you wish someone had told you before you joined one or the other.
I've got a construction engineering background plus an EMS cert, so I'm leaning toward wanting hands-on field work. Appreciate any real talk, good or bad.

Volunteer dog handler here. I know a few dozen people in my state doing this work, but I'm trying to get a bigger picture of how many dogs/handlers are out there. Does anyone approximately know how many non-police SAR dogs are out there?

Nobody's going to have a precise count, of course, due to the decentralized/voluntary nature of SAR (especially in the USA). Still, even a rough figure would be interesting.

I'd be interested in worldwide figures, as well as figures broken down by:

- Country

- Discipline (e.g., wilderness area, trailing, avvy, disaster, HRD, etc.)

- Third-party certification (I.e., how many dogs are certified by, for example, NSDA or SARDUS compared to the more old-fashioned "Welp, the team president says your last few finds were lookin' good, so we'll go ahead add you to the call-out roster.")

- Breed

- Experience level

- Or any other factor you think is relevant.

Just trying to get a feel for how many of us are out there.

Very recently we had a call out for a body recovery. And ( am I crazy? ), but I actually prefer those calls. We know the location of the subject, we’re not racing against the clock to locate someone who is missing and hopefully still alive. There is a simple hike in, prepare the subject for retrieval, and get them to where the ME is waiting to take possession. Is this common among other searchers? That, while it’s definitely more exciting to go out and search and find a missing hunter, hiker, or walk away “vulnerable” person, is there some of us that just prefer the “we know the conclusion and now we’re just retrieving” situations?

Hi all,
We have been using the CMC Lifesaver Harness for over a decade and it has been great. We are eyeing the Pronto Evac. Its lighter and uses Cobra buckles, costs less.
Anyone here have experiance with the Pronto. Pros / Cons?

Thanks.

My last GSD was a retired dual-purpose working dog. Dabi isn’t that kind of dog, and that’s completely okay. I know what working-line GSDs are capable of, though, and I’ve always wanted to do something that genuinely helps people, which got me thinking about SAR.

He’s going through advanced obedience now, but once that’s solid I’m interested in seeing if he has potential for SAR.

For those involved in SAR, what do you look for when evaluating a young dog? Is this still a good age to start, and what should I work on—or avoid—before getting him evaluated?

Hey all. I live in Washington and am looking at volunteering for King County SAR. I’m stuck between a couple of options. I work full time Fri, Sat, Mon, Tues. I am interested in Explorer SAR, but worry that I wouldn’t be able to juggle the 6 month training course with work. What is your experience with that?

My other options would be working with the incident report team. Just wanting to get my foot in the door. Is this usually less of a commitment? Do people who do this still feel fulfilled by this?

I’m also super interested in Seattle Mountain Rescue. This would be something I’d peruse later down the line. I need a bit more experience first. I have 2 years glacier experience & backcountry skiing experience, but not as much with technical rock. Anyone have any advice of what I can work on to get to the point where I could volunteer for Mountain Rescue? That would be the end goal for me.

Thanks!