- Marin County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue
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Marin County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Mountain Rescue Team
Marin County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Mountain Rescue Team logoActive 1970 - Present Type All volunteer, SAR, MRA unit Role Search and Rescue and MRA Size 60 active members Part of Marin County Sheriff's Office Garrison/HQ San Rafael, CA Nickname Marin SAR Motto Anytime, Anywhere, Any Weather Colors White and Green Website http://www.marinsar.org Commanders Unit Commander Michael St. John 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[1] 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."
Contents
History
Marin County Search and Rescue (Marin SAR) began as Explorer Post 74 in 1970, focusing on ecology and outdoor education.[2] 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[3] certified[4] capable of handling the most challenging terrain at the highest elevations. In 2006, Marin SAR hosted the International Mountain Rescue Conference (IMRC),[5] 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[6] 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[7][8][9] and high altitude searches, missing children searches,[10] mass casualty incidents or natural disasters[11] 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.[12]
Marin SAR recruits new members twice a year, in early Spring and early Fall, and no prior MRA or SAR experience is required.[13]
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 Service (NPS) rangers, California State Park Rangers, Marin Watershed management,[14] Marin County Open Space District[15] 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 ATVs and an IRB.
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Practicing high-angle rescue in Yosemite.
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Patroling on an ATV.
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High-angle search in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.
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High-angle training overlooking San Francisco Bay.
References
- ^ Marin SAR assisting on a local evidence search
- ^ History of Marin County's Search & Rescue
- ^ FEMA SAR levels defined
- ^ California region's MRA teams
- ^ MRA's 2006 Annual Report
- ^ Search and Rescue Expo 2010 on Treasure Island
- ^ Search for missing teenager
- ^ Trail runner rescued
- ^ Search for missing hiker at Pt. Reyes
- ^ Search in Sonoma County
- ^ Marin County's Search & Rescue participates in evacuation drill
- ^ Yosemite Search and Rescue
- ^ Marin County's Search & Rescue recruiting page
- ^ Marin County Watershed Program
- ^ Marin Open Spaces District
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 Rescue
- Mountain Rescue Association
- Search and Rescue
- Wilderness First Aid
- Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
- Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT)
Categories:- Rescue agencies
- Mountain rescue
- Volunteer search and rescue organisations
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