If you enjoy hiking, know a bit about navigation and and have a flexible schedule, maybe you can join the Coquitlam Search and Rescue team.
The group is recruiting up to six new members to assist in an average of 30 to 40 missions each year in the Tri-Cities, Burnaby and New Westminster, ranging from Pitt Lake to Indian Arm and from the Fraser River to Garibaldi Park.
And while the team is looking for potential recruits to have at least a basic fitness level and some experience in the outdoors, the biggest factor is the ability to make a significant time commitment.
"You could be the highest skilled rescue person in the world but if you can't make it to the searches or training, you're not much use," said Coquitlam SAR spokesperson Michael Coyle, noting the group is looking for applicants from the Tri-Cities, Burnaby, New West and Vancouver.
Once accepted to the team, members can expect weekly training sessions of two to three hours and a monthly full-day session. The ground-level SAR training program is 80 hours but more advanced training in first aid, rope rescue or other tracks will add to that.
The average time commitment is about 300 hours per year, Coyle said, and applicants will need to detail how they can accommodate training and incident calls, which can come at any time of day, into their work life. Coyle joined 16 years ago and "vividly remembers" that it was several years before he experienced his first daytime search.
"It's not all glamorous," he joked, adding the supportive partners of SAR members are what allow the team to do its work. "They are members of the team in their own right."
Coquitlam SAR's last recruitment drive was in 2013, when it took on a large group of new volunteers, but with retirements and people moving away, it now needs to add a handful of new members to maintain a roster of about 50.
Prospective members can attend an information session on March 16 at Coquitlam city hall, where they can learn more about what's involved in becoming a SAR volunteer, and fill out an application form (the deadline is March 31).
From there, the team will select up to 20 hopefuls for a mandatory evaluation hike April 16 at Buntzen Lake.
"You will need a minimum level of fitness to be able to participate in the activities we do," Coyle said, including hauling equipment and stretchers on challenging hikes.
The evaluation hike will also be an opportunity for SAR members to get an understanding of the applicants' outdoor experience and their overall approach, Coyle said.
"We don't want the kind of person who's a cowboy, somebody who wants to go off by themselves," he said. "SAR is very much a team sport. You've got to work together as a group with a common goal — you don't just strike out on your own."
The field will then be whittled down even further to those who are selected for in-depth interviews; those who make the cut become members-in-training for a year.
It is time-consuming, challenging and, at times, unpredictable work, but it comes with a significant pay-off, Coyle said.
"It's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. It encompasses helping people who are in obvious and desperate need of help… and you see the results quickly."
• For more information about the Coquitlam SAR application process, visit www.coquitlam-sar.bc.ca.
