How do I get started in Search and Rescue?
Requirements
To qualify for initial membership in KCSR, either as an Operational Member, or as an Administrative Member, an applicant must:
- Be at least 14 years of age.
- Attend a KCSR Member Orientation meeting
- Complete an application for membership.
- Pass a background check by the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.
- Secure a Washington State Emergency Workers Identification Card (DEM card).
To maintain membership as an Operational Member, in addition to the qualifications set out above, a member must:
- Fulfill KCSR Basic Training Requirements as approved by the KCSR Executive Council and the WASARVAC.
- Maintain minimum qualifications, training, and mission participation within at least one Operational Group.
- Complete and submit a Record of Training to the KCSR Training Records Manager upon completion of each training event he/she participates in.
- Operational Members are also encouraged to maintain their own training file where they keep duplicate copies of each Record of Training submitted to the KCSR Training Records Manager.
What kind of training is required?
State Training Requirements
Washington State has a very robust SAR program administered from the Washington State Department of Emergency Management and supported by a SAR Volunteer Advisory Committee (WASARVAC)
As such, there are statewide Core Competencies that are required for someone to be an active, operational member in a SAR team.
These topics, along with others, are all covered during the Academy Training.
As of 2021, the required topics are:
- Physical and Mental Fitness
- Legal Issues in SAR
- Search and Rescue Survival Skills and Equipment
- Radio Communications
- Land Navigation
- GPS Operation
- Crime Scene Identification and Management
- Search Organization and Management
- Clue Awareness and Identification
- Search Techniques
- Subject/Searcher First Aid
- Helicopter Safety
- Rescue Techniques
How is the training delivered?
Academy Classes
Kittitas County SAR holds two academy sessions each year, the first starting in early March and the second starting in September.
Each Academy session runs approximately 8 weeks, meeting on every other weekend, usually on a Saturday.
Courses are initially presented in our online Learning Management System, Canvas. The week's upcoming topics should be completed before the in-person class starts.
All of the Core Competencies mentioned above are covered in each Session. Most contain both a classroom and practical demonstration component.
Upon completion of the classroom/practical exercise, the Academy students must participate in a mock mission lasting up to 48 hours during which they will have an opportunity to practice and demonstrate the skills they have learned in the previous 8 weeks. Students will construct their own shelter from the contents of the 24-48 hour pack and sleep in it overnight, continuing the mock mission the next day.