FRIENDS OF
JOSEPHINE COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE
SAR Teams
Josephine County SAR is made up of many teams with unique roles. SAR volunteers go through extensive training for each specialty.
Ground Team
This team is an integral part of almost every mission. They perform wilderness and urban searches, including riverbanks, trails, roads, and BLM territory. This multi-faceted group also conducts fire evacuations in residential, camping, and off-road areas. The ground team is trained and equipped to respond at a moment’s notice.
Incident Command and Communications
This team provides guidance for the teams that go out to find lost or injured parties. IC has at least one individual assigned to each required function of plans, operations, logistics, safety, and communications. This team specializes in mapping and information technology. It takes a full command trailer to run an operation safely and effectively.
K-9 Team
Each dog team has been certified to performance standards set by the Oregon State Sheriff's Association. (OSSA). These trained K9's are certified in Wilderness Air Scent Rescues, Wilderness and Urban Trailing, Human remains Detection, and Firearms and Evidence Detection. SAR dogs are able to search large areas of space in a shorter time then their Human SAR counterparts and are able to get to spaces that a human might not be able to reach.
UAV Team
SAR UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) assist in the location of people in distress or potential danger. They assist the search in difficult terrain, such as wilderness and mountainous regions. SAR UAVs are designed to provide cost-effective, real time data and imaging, day or night in challenging conditions and without risk to personnel. Their cameras provide infrared thermal imaging that can detect human body heat.
...so that others may live.
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ATV/Snow Team
ATVs are useful in difficult terrain where larger vehicles cannot pass. They can be used as transportation of searchers, evacuation of search victims, or movement of needed equipment. They are equipped with GPS capabilities.
Ropes Team
The ropes team is trained to perform technical rope rescue operations in wilderness environments or structures such as bridges or towers.
Maintenance Team
Mechanics may be out of the spotlight, but are no less important. This team ensures equipment is ready to respond—with proactive inspections, repairs, and service history logs.
Dive Team
This team is charged with body recovery in area rivers and lakes. They play a critical role in persons missing in water. The amount of training hours involved to be able to achieve the needed technical skills are too many to count.