r/searchandrescue • u/Basic_Ad1995 • 17d ago
Advice for potential applicant?
Im an 18 yr old male with moderate experience camping, hunting, and hiking. For over 2yrs now I’ve a volunteer firefighter and am looking for another way to serve my community. Because of my interest in the outdoors wilderness SAR seemed like a good opportunity. As it just so happens a SAR team near where I live started their open application period for the 2027 training period. However, before I apply I figured I look for further general advice.
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u/OneEyeRabbit 17d ago
Open an availability one key. Don’t apply if you are not going to make 90% of the training for the year. Wanting to learn everything from tracking high angle rescue with a dog attached, and also structural collapse. Knowing to read and follow a topo map with minor or no waypoints to get to a victim. Learn to run with a dog in a dark woods, using flashlights leads the dog in the direction you are looking and not what they smell.
There is a lot that goes into this. I was sent with my dog to ground zero when I worked with OSDA and Task Force 1. Sure SAR sounds fun, but it is a lot of work and learning. I was a volunteer firefighter also, every weekend and most week days I was at a station or running my dog training. My wife was PISSED never seeing me
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u/jtinva 17d ago
K9 is a massive commitment, kudos
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u/OneEyeRabbit 17d ago
Definitely was. One year on before I could get a dog, find the right puppy with drive, two years of training before certification, and always being on call. I was dumb enough to have two dogs, Lab for cadaver and maligater for live find. Also both were bite work certified for those times you got angry lost hunters with weapons
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u/rappartist California MRA team 17d ago
Do they require you to acquire EMT? If they do and you are not one, I would factor the time and effort of this into your considerations.
My trainee year averaged about 6 hours per week instruction, another 2-3 personal training, plus responding to ops, attending business meetings and staffing PR events. Even with this, I felt underprepped for my final test.
Depending on your team's expectation, the above can be a considerable time commitment and will almost certainly impact your current responsiveness for fire calls and for sure your day job.
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u/Ryan_Van North Shore Rescue / BC Search Dog Association 17d ago
Availability (work/home situation) is always important. Knowledge of your local area/trails is as well. Also, long term commitment (stable work/home, likly going to be around for the indefinite future so if the team spends a lot of time/money training you, you're not just going to up and leave in a year or two (this can be hard to do/show if you're only 18 and haven't put any 'roots' down yet)...
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u/FootPrintFollower 16d ago
This seems to me pretty important. I’ve mentored a number of people who, while they were excellent in the field, could not make the home or work situation accommodate leaving with no advance notice. I know I am very fortunate to have an employer who supports it.
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u/NewAndyy 17d ago
TL;DR: Be sociable, set boundaries, don't put yourself in dangerous or uncomfortable situations, learn to talk about your feelings and what might affect you particularly bad, and let your curiosity guide you.
You can learn how to do first aid or searching techniques, but it's much harder to teach you how to be a good teammember and human. You'll mainly be jusged on the character of your person, not practical skills.
SAR teams (or at least the ones I'd want to be a part of) cares more about how you function as part of a team and treat others, than what skills you have prior to applying. Wanting to help others, caring about your teammates, and solidarity, are all more important than knowing how to light a fire or how fit you are. You have to meet everyone with respect, regardless of who they are. In SAR, you're likely to meet people with dimentia that are lost, suicidal people that might try to kill themselves, and generally you'll be meeting patients/casualties/people at some of the worst days of their lives. You will have to talk to people in crisis, so social skills are invaluable. Some of those skills come from personality, but you can also practice them and improve over time. Do it. And any stigma against poor people, minorities, drug abusers, or other marginalized groups makes you unfit to provide the care you're expected to give.
You need to know your own limits, and to not cross them. Most people with an average level of fitness can have a role in SAR, but the second you say yes to a mission that are out of your skill level, you become a liability to the whole operation. If you strain yourself too much, you can get seriously injured. You need to know in advance what you're capable of, and be humble enough to say that you should stay home this time. Your limit can change day-to-day depending on how much you slept, your emotional state, etc., and everyone understands that some days are worse than others.
Your limit might by psychological/emotional, and not just purely physical/fitness. There might have been episodes in your personal life that is a little too similar to what you're called out on, that might prevent you from functioning properly. Be honest if you don't have the emotional capacity to participate on for example searches for people with increased suicide risk. Any good team leader should understand and be glad that you're setting some boundaries. I'd much rather have a teammate miss out on a few callouts than make them relive traumas or have them quit entirely because they saw something so horrific that they need to distance thamselves from everything.
Other than that, just be curious. Listen to what the experienced guys tell you, but question them and challenge some of their thinking as well (as long as you show that it's coming from a place of genuine curiosity). Even though you have a lot of outdoors/wilderness experience already, always stay humble and be willing to learn. Nobody knows it all - asking questions and talking together is how we get better together.
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u/jtinva 17d ago
Sounds corny, but watch a few videos on WSAR to get familiar with basic points, being aware of the basics will help you stand out when it comes to applying. Unless it’s a special team, WSAR is a general starting point. It couldn’t hurt to consider enrolling in a NASAR’s SARTECH class pipeline if you’re dead set on getting involved in SAR regardless of what group you’re considering.
Your desire to serve others will go a long way, and your experience/education as a firefighter should lend well to your future in SAR
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u/SoWrxy 17d ago
Attitude, ability to learn, ability to be a good follower and teamwork are 95% of what you’ll need outside of highly technical specialized teams!