San Jose Search and Rescue

You must be 21, pass a background and DMV check, and have a strong desire to help people. No prior SAR, medical, or rescue training is required. There’s a role for everyone – you don’t have to go in the field if that’s not your interest. We need help with everything from planning and logistics to fundraising - as well as ground searchers.

The responses and callouts are quite varied. The primary function is wilderness search and rescue for missing persons. Other functions include searches for persons missing from urban areas, water rescue and evacuation, large animal rescue, downed aircraft searches and recoveries, and searches for emergency locator transmitter (ELT) activations.

Other organizational activities, such as public relations, medical stand by's, and similar functions.

Members are required to obtain at least First Responder and Professional level CPR medical certification during the first year. Periodic recertification in each of these areas is required. Our internal training programs extend and expand on these areas.

Many of our members have pursued further training in these and related areas through outside programs. We have members who are EMT's, Rescue Systems 1 and 2 certified, Swiftwater Rescue Technicians, and a variety of other specialty certifications.

Search and Rescue provides the opportunity for an individual to be of service to the community in a variety of unique circumstances. It also provides opportunities for personal growth and training. Those of us who have been doing this for a length of time find it addictive, in the best sense of the word. The personal satisfactions can be intense.

However, it is not for everyone. There are time and money costs that must be recognized. You may be exposed to unpleasant sights, sounds, odors, and situations. The conditions in which we are called on to provide these services are frequently uncomfortable.

Your personal expectations must also be evaluated. If you're getting into this expecting continuous, high-energy action, you will likely be disappointed. Adrenaline junkies don't find Search and Rescue satisfying for very long, at least not in this area. While we work along side the career services in technical rescue situations, the truth is that they are very well trained and our assistance is not required very often. Most of what we do is tedious and the call volume is not extremely high. For example, most of our use of the rope systems over the years has been on body recoveries.

Search and rescue is, almost universally, a voluntary service. No one on the San Jose SAR team receives any compensation.

Dues for each team member are $30 per year and there is also a one-time $15 application fee for the San Jose team. Beyond that, there are costs for personal equipment. Much of this is the sort of equipment you would need if you were backcountry hiking and camping. There are relatively few absolute necessities beyond that. The minimal equipment should be on the order of $200, depending on when and where you buy it, the sales you find, etc. There are a number of other items that various members decide to buy, and these items can add to the costs significantly. But these items are optional and can be acquired as time goes by and your budget permits.

The bigger cost is probably time. SAR does take up some part of what used to be spare time, and it can take up a considerable portion of your time. (Again, this varies significantly with the individual.) At the very least there are the Wednesday meetings and occasional weekend trainings. Other training and outside classes take up some of the remaining time. Callouts are quite unpredictable and are frequently at inconvenient times in inconvenient locations. They are not always on weekends, so there can be an impact on your work life also.

As previously discussed, there is a minimum of equipment that must be purchased. See SAR Ready Pack. Other equipment is a matter of personal choice and comfort. Some of our members are "gear freaks" and have spent significant amounts on equipment. Others of our members do not make the same expenditure.

There are several insurance programs available. First, members are covered by Worker's Compensation under the OES-administered Disaster Service Worker program while actually participating in an operation. This covers the medical expenses and provides a minimal amount of weekly income. This income will NOT provide a comfortable standard of living. Second, SJSAR members are insured by private insurance over and above Worker's Comp, which provides weekly income to help out. Together, the insurances will NOT replace lost salary for most workers in this area. It might be appropriate to carry disability insurance through your group program if available.

To an extent, this depends on the level of commitment and activity you wish to undertake. The team meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, from 6:30 to 9:00pm. There are some weekend trainings that will take part of or an entire day. Other outside classes take more time. For example, the First Responder class (Emergency Response) is approximately 48 hours outside of the normal team program. Other optional training takes time also.

No.

No. The team provides radios for use during the operations. The primary means of notification is by way of a group-call pager.

The frequencies we use for our operations are in the Commercial/Public Service frequency spectrum, and are not Ham frequencies. The licensees control who is allowed to use them and what equipment will be allowed. Though some Amateur Radio operators "open up" their radios to be able to communicate outside of the Ham bands, this use of their equipment is illegal, since Ham equipment is not commercial "Type Accepted" equipment. Ham operators are not allowed to communicate on Ham gear on the frequencies used for search and rescue.

That said, many of our members have become licensed Hams and find it to be an interesting hobby as well. There is also some level of coordination that sometimes takes place on an Amateur frequencies. That stated, it is not necessary to be capable of transmission on those channels to participate fully in the teams' functions. Common scanners can be used to monitor the Commercial, Public Service, and Ham frequencies.

No. But be aware that not living in Santa Clara County can reduce your availability and increase your response time to an incident. This may reduce the level of activity you are able to participate in. The commute will also increase the time and money commitment.