Badlands Search and Rescue

Adelle Ellis
Times Reporter

 

Students of the Badlands Search and Rescue (BSAR) team have spent nine months in pre-training and formal training, learning many different skills so they can accompany the team on search and rescue missions in the future.
Following a written exam on Jan. 19, they will all be certified search and rescuers.
“They have all learned to be an effective member of different teams and roles and how to do different types of searches,” said Malen Vidler, BSAR operations director.
Badlands Search and Rescue is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing search and rescue services throughout Wheatland County, Kneehill County and beyond.
Vidler, who has been with the team for 18 months, has taken the basic search and rescue course, man-tracking and a search management course. He is the main director for training as well as one of three search managers who organize teams when a search gets called in.
“We are a voluntary emergency response unit,” said Vidler.
The BSAR team has been in operation for six years and is one of 38 units in Alberta. They have been called out to and involved in 20 search and rescue missions. They are typically tasked out by a law enforcement agent such as the RCMP or Calgary Police, or if it is a civil response, then they are tasked out by municipal government agencies. Searches the team takes part in include missing persons, search and rescues and evidence searches.
“I took search management training and learned that there wasn’t a search and rescue team for the area, and that if a team was needed in Wheatland or Kneehill counties, it would be a minimum wait time of three hours for a response from a search and rescue unit,” said Scott Campbell, founder and president of BSAR. “And that’s just not good enough.”
To date, BSAR has trained and fully certified 30 search and rescuers. Currently, they have 20 fully certified search and rescuers who are still active within their organization.
“It’s a great global organization to be part of. I love helping people and this is a need for the community. This is another way for the people in our community to volunteer and help and give back,” said Campbell.
For those interested in joining the organization, you must be at least 18 years of age, be a resident of Alberta, have a clear criminal record, and live within the response range. Being standard first aid certified is also a pre-requisite to the course.
There is a $50 yearly fee, which allows participants to take part in any courses that BSAR and Search and Rescue Alberta, which is their overseeing body, offers to its members.
Before becoming a certified search and rescuer, students must pre-train before they take formal training, which involves 20 hours of classroom work and 20 hours of field work, a full blown mock search, and they must pass a written examination.
“Our requirements aren’t simple; we ask certain things from our members. It’s a big commitment from them,” said Vidler.
Training includes learning how to conduct and participate in four different types of searches, as well as recovery efforts, evidence searches, building improvised shelters, means of purifying water, helicopter landing, survival techniques for themselves and injured people, lost person behaviour, and extensive training in navigation and communications.
The program is flexible because members are spread out, but the training classes take place on the first Saturday and third Thursday of every month.
“A lot of these skills are perishable skills where if you don’t practice them, you’ll lose them,” said Campbell.
Because of this, once certified, members are expected to participate in at least six training sessions a year, and in one mock or real search and rescue mission.
Along with the annual fee, members are also required to buy their own equipment, such as quality hiking boots with good ankle support and a top quality 40 litre backpack, a good quality compass, gaiters, tarps, a search and rescue uniform, a way to cook a meal (portable stove and water purifier as well as food), bug juice and a bug shirt, sunscreen, survival blanket, survival biffy bag, hiking poles and a personal first aid kit. The costs of these items can range anywhere from $400 to $2,400, depending on the quality of gear a participant gets.
The non-profit organization itself also has a lot of equipment on hand for search and rescue missions. This equipment is gained through donations and fundraising events throughout the year. The BSAR team are always looking for sponsors to help fund more equipment and gear.
BSAR is holding their annual general meeting on Feb. 4 at the Badlands Recreation Facility in Drumheller, and anyone is welcome to attend. They will also be running recruiting sessions in March in Strathmore and Drumheller and in surrounding communities for those who are interested in learning about the organization or in joining and receiving training.
For more information about BSAR, visit their website (badlandsearchandrescue.com) or visit their Facebook page (facebook.com/badlandsar).
“We are always looking for motivated people and people who want to give back. I believe there is a role for everybody,” said Campbell. “We have a lot of expectations, but it is a very worth-while organization and we surpass expectations.”