Volunteer search and rescue groups have had a peppered history regarding funding. In the semi-closed circles, much money has come out of the pockets of both private citizens and organizations, as well as public and federal funding.
While many rescue groups have difficulty acquiring funding across the nation,
the group I’m working with in AK has what seems to be a rather unique method of funding. Much like the way the VT education fund is given all profits from scratch and lottery ticket sales, a percentage of pull-tab sales (much like scratch tickets and the only legal form of gambling in the state) goes to our group, providing reliable, steady income. Having a steady funding source is rare except for federally funded (read: military or forest service), or municipally funded (usually sub-divisions of fire depts) groups.
Military search and rescue (SAR) is usually reserved for their own, and often operate overseas. The exceptions to this rule are the Coast Guard patrols, which are restricted primarily to maritime regions. We are fortunate enough to have one of two AK USCG helibases within 70 miles. These pilots are the best in the business, as they fly regularly in some of the harshest conditions the country has to offer. In fact, the flying is so difficult up here, that every USCG pilot is required to do at least a 1yr tour in AK, either in Sitka (near us) or in Kodiak, in the Aleutians. While its great to have the mobility of a helicopter, there is also a strict limitation in terms of flying weather, available manpower for ops, and in situational circumstances (i.e. helis: they’re great, fast, and convenient, but they can’t do it all). These guys are career professionals.
Forest service SAR teams are restricted to areas of USFS jurisdiction, and are found only in park areas where an extremely high liability is perceived: Denali, Rainer, etc. These are often seasonal, paid climbing rangers who are able to call in additional help if needed, but primarily operate within their own organization using nearby climbers to provide fast response (mountaineers are usually trained in self and group rescue techniques specific to the glacier and mountain environment). Perhaps the one exception where there are paid climbing rangers on a state level would be the rangers of the Shawnagunks near New Paltz, NY (an amazing place!).
Municipal/Country SAR teams are usually fire dept. branches, and operate under the NFPA (national fire protection association) standards, which can be limiting, as they are designed with a more urban setting in mind. In fact, in Juneau we have one through CCFR, which overlaps with our mission somewhat, though they tend to stick to the road system, while we operate more in the back country and do all the searches. Municipal teams are usually all volunteer, but often have a paid director. JMR strictly volunteer, funded only by the pulltabs (only 5 other organizations in the state have this deal, and only one of those is SAR), and fueled by many generous donations from businesses and individuals.
There is effectively no direct compensation for teams, all that time, training, and execution in a callout. However, there is compensation for gear lost in the so-called ‘line of duty’ (how much duty is assumed when you are a volunteer? That is a whole other legal, ethical, and personal debate for another day).
The reason this comes up is I had the pleasure/pain of participating in my first full blown technical rescue the other day. I’m not going to launch into the details, but it was a great experience to put under the belt (you can read the articles below, the press got it sort of right). I basically tore up a bunch of gear in the process, and its all gotten replaced, which feels weird. The biggest thing to go was a pair of Mammut goretex pants, ~$350. All of a sudden, I’m getting materially compensated by the state (through which we are authorized to act) for something that was previously considered, well, not a big deal. We just had a big debrief tonight, rehashing the whole operation, critiques were made, lessons reviews, etc. I started this post a few days ago, when things were pretty intense, but now I seem to have run out of steam on it,
so cheerio,
News Links:
KVTA (anchorage news brief)
JNU Empire (you may have to make a free account, but this is the closest thing to the full story; also, Jrad is wearing my jacket; also, it may have be 8h for him, but it was 12h for Jim and I: first in, last out baby!)
