CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – The Campbell River Search and Rescue team wants you.
The crews is looking to boost their numbers, from the close to 40 members they have now to about 60 to 80 members, according to team member and Swiftwater coordinator, Scott Ballhorn.
“We cover all inland waterways and land searches between Campbell River, north to Port Hardy, west to the Nootka area and all the way east to Budd Inlet, so it’s quite a large area,” he said.
“Anything from mountain rescues, to Swiftwater, to tracking in urban environments for dementia (patients), so it’s quite a mix of activities that Campbell River Search and Rescue is involved in.”
Ballhorn said it does not matter what your background is, and anyone can sign up.
“We have an 80-hour ground search and rescue course that everyone takes, no matter what their background is,” he said.
Ballhorn said they have members from all walks of life.
“We have mechanics, we have doctors, we have school teachers, people that are good with communication devices like radios, so there’s not one particular skill set that we’re looking for. We can train people with the hard skills and the soft skills, there’s many different roles that people can fit into,” he explained.
“People have the perception that (SAR) it’s about putting a backpack on and going hiking for a few hours. It is that, but there’s a lot more to it than that. We have people that offer a lot of support that are not necessarily going out into the field on all the calls but they assist those that are.”
The team is hosting an open house on Thursday, October 11th at 261b Larwood Road (behind the #2 Firehall). The informational session will allow residents to sign up and ask questions. It’s on at 7:00 p.m.
