Search and Rescue

The Cariboo Regional recognizes the public health benefits of vaccination programs in reducing illness, disability, and death from community-acquired diseases and will support public health messaging about the importance of vaccines against communicable diseases. Consequently, the Cariboo Regional District requires that all volunteers be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 as per the Cariboo Regional District Mandatory Vaccine Policy.

Telephones and radios are manned, from home base, by volunteers during a search to keep in touch with the command centre out in the field.

Of course record keeping for membership and searches requires a lot of paper work.
For this we need members to help out.

Air Search

Volunteers act as air spotters, navigators, or pilots in private or commercial airplanes or helicopters to search for missing or overdue aircraft or lost persons. Volunteers assist members of the Provincial Emergency Program - Air Division, the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association or Department of National Defense - 442 Squadron from Comox in these searches.

Auto Extrication

Auto extrication is the removal of trapped or injured persons involved in a motor vehicle accident.

Our volunteers are highly trained and equipped for an emergency response with specialized equipment such as the jaws of life, hydraulic spreaders, cutters, rams, jacks and winches to affect the fast, efficient and safe removal of accident victims on or off roads.

This team also specializes in rope rescue techniques.
Quite often we are called upon to scale an embankment to rescue people.

Our team consists of volunteers from many different careers and jobs, who at a moments notice will leave their jobs, family, friends and other activities to assist in saving someone's life.

Communications

Volunteers communicate between the search and rescue scene and the command centre, usually in Williams Lake. This is accomplished through our network of radios and repeaters or through radio links provided by cooperating agencies.

Other team members are certified to respond to flat ice call outs which also requires special training.

These certified members are called upon to incidents where an individual(s) has fallen through ice on still water (ie. lakes or slow moving river ice).

As the water environment is varied and hazardous all team members put their own safety first and perform these functions on a volunteer basis.

Land Search

Land search and rescue members search for missing persons on land and water in both urban and rural areas. We may need to search for missing children, hunters, hikers, snowmobilers or victims of crime. Searchers often work in remote, rugged areas with difficult access.

Water Rescue

In addition to Auto Ex and Land SAR the team is also capable of assisting the RCMP in lake, river and other water rescues when called upon.

With the use of a Thunder Denali jet boat equipped with a 200 hp motor searches have been conducted on local and district lakes.

Members are trained, in house, on the running and maintenance of the jet boat. Operators have the Boat Operators Certificate.

A team is also certified to operate in swift water. Extensive training with designed gear in and around swift flowing waters is ongoing during the summer months.