InFocus Magazine

They’re the Comox Valley’s unsung heroes. Working for the most part in the remote Vancouver Island wilderness or during the dead of the night, they stay well below the radar of most local residents. They’re the ones that you never want to have to rely on, but the ones you sure will be grateful for if you ever do. They’re Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue, and they’re always on duty.

Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue (CVGSAR) is responsible for search, rescue and recovery missions in a massive area that spans the Comox Valley from Oyster River in the north to Cook Creek in the south, and from the rugged backcountry of Strathcona Park to the outlying islands of Georgia Strait.

“We’re responsible for any lost or injured person on the ground, in a lake or in a river within that search area,” says CVGSAR president Paul Berry. “We’re the quiet emergency service provider in the community.

“Most of our searches start out like a children’s story,” he adds, referencing a comment made by one of the organization’s longest-serving volunteers. “‘It was a dark and stormy night…”

Another reason you’ve likely never heard of CVGSAR is because the search and rescue limelight, as it were, is more often captured by high-profile air or marine rescues that are handled by CFB Comox’s 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron. The CVGSAR team, however, is more than happy with its low profile in the community.

“The group is not the sort of group that blows its own horn,” Berry says, acknowledging that there is no shortage of humbling moments in their line of work. “They’re pretty quiet and modest about what they do.”

The CVGSAR team is comprised of 62 volunteers who are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s a dedicated group, some members of which have been involved with the organization since its inception in 1974, with an almost equal distribution of men and women from a wide range of backgrounds, Berry says.

“We range from university students in their 20s to a couple of members in their 70s. One is a retired general, so it’s a real diverse group of people coming from many different professional backgrounds. We have people from the military, emergency services, plumbers, secretaries, bank tellers, everything under the sun.”

Berry stresses that CVGSAR members are “true volunteers.” Unlike volunteer firefighters, he says, CVGSAR volunteers never receive any compensation. They’re also responsible for buying their own equipment, which he says can cost up to $1,000, and unlike other emergency service providers, they are not eligible for any tax rebates for expenses incurred through their service.

That doesn’t stop the committed group of volunteers from donating an incredible amount of time to the cause, however. “Last year we had around 45 members and it was around 15,000 or 16,000 hours that the group committed over the course of the year in training and calls,” Berry says, adding that there is a lot more time that never gets recorded. “It’s a pretty big time commitment.”

Although many of the searches or recovery missions the team undertakes involve inherent dangers, Berry says the safety of the team is always paramount. In fact, in more than 30 years of service, CVGSAR has never had a member killed or seriously injured despite the many hazardous situations in which team members have been placed in the line of duty.“I think that says something about the level of training and the management of the searches,” he says. “You train to minimize those risks, and at times if conditions are hazardous we won’t put teams in. It’s technical and it’s dangerous, but it’s a great team to be part of.”

Every CVGSAR member must undergo a comprehensive 72-hour basic training program prior to responding to any calls. The course materials, defined by the Justice Institute of BC and the Provincial Emergency Program, consist of everything from first aid and basic search techniques to communications, wilderness survival, helicopter operations, avalanche awareness and rope training. In essence, the course covers all the skills required to be a certified ground search and rescue technician in British Columbia. Team members then have the option of signing on to one of the organization’s specialist teams, such as swift water rescue or avalanche response.

In addition to this extensive initial training, the entire 62-member CVGSAR team trains for three hours every Wednesday evening.

“It’s a cyclic training schedule,” says Berry, “so we review a lot of the basic skills on a regular basis. Map and compass navigation, GPS (global positioning system) and first aid are key things that we review regularly. We also try to provide search scenarios that give team leaders and specialist teams the opportunity to practice their skills on a regular basis. Then the specialist teams practice on additional nights as well.”