Training, Qualifications, and Certifications

In accordance with California law, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is charged with providing search and rescue (SAR) services in San Bernardino County. The Sheriff does this by maintaining volunteer search and rescue teams who are on-call 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. San Bernardino County has the largest search and rescue volunteer department in the United States with 18 Search and Rescue Teams

Under its SAR Coordinator, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department administers and coordinates all Search and Rescue missions. This Coordinator position is usually filled with someone familiar with search and rescue by having served on a team as a SAR volunteer or a SAR Team Deputy Coordinator. The County also oversees the Inland Empire Search and Rescue Council (IESRC). It’s comprised of a volunteer board made up of members from each of the County’s 21 teams.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff understands the need for trained search and rescue professionals, both paid and volunteer. All Deputy SAR Coordinators and Sergeant SAR Coordinators attend classes. These classes are specifically geared toward the management of search and rescue teams. San Bernardino County also provides search and rescue training to all volunteer SAR team members. This training is at the expense of the County.

Training

Each search and rescue volunteer must complete a 60-hour Basic Search and Rescue (BSAR) class, and pass both a field and written test. The BSAR class includes introductory level courses in land navigation, tracking, wilderness survival, radio communications, equipment selection and maintenance, and many others. The final exam includes a simulated search and rescue mission where students search for clues leading to a subject or two. Trainees perform basic patient care and carry the subject to a trailhead or landing zone.

With their extensive training, experience, accreditations, and certifications, SAR teams in San Bernardino County also provides mutual aid to other San Bernardino County teams and other counties in California under the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Plan – SAR Annex.