Marin County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue
Encyclopedia
Marin County Search and Rescue is an all-volunteer organization in Marin County within the county's Sheriff's office. With approximately sixty active members year round, Marin County's Search and Rescue (Marin SAR) responds to searches for missing children and adults, evidence and other search requests in the county and on mutual aid calls anywhere in the state of California
. Marin SAR is a mountain rescue
Type I certified team able to handle the toughest terrain and remain out in the field without resupply for extended periods with the motto of: "Anytime, Anywhere, Any Weather."
In 2004, Marin County's SAR team became Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) Type I certified capable of handling the most challenging terrain at the highest elevations. In 2006, Marin SAR hosted the International Mountain Rescue Conference (IMRC), bringing search and rescue experts from all over to train together and share best practices in technical rescue. In 2010, Marin SAR was one of the coordinating host agencies for SAREX 2010 with responsibility for the coordination and management of the technical rope rescue
.
Today the team, headquartered in San Rafael
, CA
at 10S 054113 420581 UTM
, trains and is equipped to respond to sustained wilderness and high altitude searches, missing children searches, mass casualty incidents or natural disasters as well as Urban Search and Rescue
(US&R) with some members also members of regional US&R task force and swiftwater rescue
. One of the few Search & Rescue teams to recruit and deploy youth members, on average Marin's SAR team has approximately 20 high-school age members and in a typical year deploys on 40 missions throughout the State of California including Yosemite.
Marin SAR recruits new members twice a year, in early Spring and early Fall, and no prior MRA or SAR experience is required.
(NPS) rangers
, California State Park Rangers
, Marin Watershed management, Marin County Open Space District as well as local law enforcement, fire, and civic organizations.
s and an IRB
.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Marin SAR is a mountain rescue
Mountain rescue
Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. The difficult and remote nature of the terrain in which mountain rescue often occurs has resulted...
Type I certified team able to handle the toughest terrain and remain out in the field without resupply for extended periods with the motto of: "Anytime, Anywhere, Any Weather."
History
Marin County Search and Rescue (Marin SAR) began as Explorer Post 74 in 1970, focusing on ecology and outdoor education. In 1971, the organization became the first scouting group in Marin to accept young women into the program. In the mid-1970s, several members attended a scouting conference in Washington State and learned about Explorer Search and Rescue. Marin Explorers returned and convinced the rest of the group to change the focus to search and rescue.In 2004, Marin County's SAR team became Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) Type I certified capable of handling the most challenging terrain at the highest elevations. In 2006, Marin SAR hosted the International Mountain Rescue Conference (IMRC), bringing search and rescue experts from all over to train together and share best practices in technical rescue. In 2010, Marin SAR was one of the coordinating host agencies for SAREX 2010 with responsibility for the coordination and management of the technical rope rescue
Rope rescue
Rope rescue is a subset of technical rescue that involves the use of static nylon kernmantle ropes, anchoring and belaying devices, friction rappel devices, various devices to utilize mechanical advantage for hauling systems, and other specialized equipment to reach victims and safely recover...
.
Today the team, headquartered in San Rafael
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
at 10S 054113 420581 UTM
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system
The Universal Transverse Mercator geographic coordinate system uses a 2-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system to give locations on the surface of the Earth. It is a horizontal position representation, i.e...
, trains and is equipped to respond to sustained wilderness and high altitude searches, missing children searches, mass casualty incidents or natural disasters as well as Urban Search and Rescue
Urban search and rescue
Urban search and rescue involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces due to natural disasters, structural collapse, transportation accidents, mines and collapsed trenches.USAR teams in different countries may be organised in a...
(US&R) with some members also members of regional US&R task force and swiftwater rescue
Swiftwater rescue
Swiftwater rescue is a subset of technical rescue dealing in whitewater river conditions. Due to the added pressure of moving water, swiftwater rescue involves the use of specially trained personnel, ropes and mechanical advantage systems that are often much more robust than those used in standard...
. One of the few Search & Rescue teams to recruit and deploy youth members, on average Marin's SAR team has approximately 20 high-school age members and in a typical year deploys on 40 missions throughout the State of California including Yosemite.
Marin SAR recruits new members twice a year, in early Spring and early Fall, and no prior MRA or SAR experience is required.
Operations
Due to the diverse geography of Marin County, its proximity to major population centers, and natural tourist attractions, Marin County's SAR team operates closely with National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
(NPS) rangers
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
, California State Park Rangers
California State Park Rangers
California State Park Peace Officers are fully sworn Peace Officers who perform a wide variety of law enforcement activities...
, Marin Watershed management, Marin County Open Space District as well as local law enforcement, fire, and civic organizations.
Resources
Marin SAR fields six Search & Rescue vehicles including one SUV, a 4x4 van, a command vehicle and three emergency service vehicles. Additionally the team has two ATVAll-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
s and an IRB
Inflatable Rescue Boat
Inflatable Rescue Boats have been used for all forms of surf rescue, retrieval, and service by Surf Lifesaving in New Zealand and Australia since the late 1980s.-Overview:...
.
External links
- Marin County's Search & Rescue website
- Marin Independent Journal news article
- NBC Bay Area news on a recent search
- Successful search in Mendocino National Forrest
- Mountain Rescue Association
- Marin SAR's promotional video on YouTube
- Marin SAR's training videos on YouTube
See also
- Mountain RescueMountain rescueMountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. The difficult and remote nature of the terrain in which mountain rescue often occurs has resulted...
- Mountain Rescue AssociationMountain Rescue AssociationIn the United States, mountain rescue is handled by professional teams within some national parks and by volunteer teams elsewhere. Volunteer teams are part of the Mountain Rescue Association and operate under the authority of the local sheriff's department....
- Search and RescueSearch and rescueSearch and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
- Wilderness First Aid
- Wilderness First ResponderWilderness First ResponderWilderness First Responders are individuals who are trained to respond to emergency situations in remote settings. They are part of a wide variety of wilderness medical professionals who deal with medical emergencies that occur in wilderness settings....
(WFR) - Wilderness Emergency Medical TechnicianWilderness emergency medical technicianWilderness Emergency Medical Technician, or WEMT, is the second highest level of wilderness emergency medical training available in the USA , or other courses for advanced providers such as AWLS, and RMAP...
(WEMT)