Barriere Search and Rescue members gave a large sigh of relief last weekend when the province announced it is giving B.C.’s search and rescue volunteers a $18.6-million boost.
The funding followed numerous pleas from search and rescue members across the province after the association was left out of last month’s budget.
The newly announced money is earmarked to be used over three years to replace equipment, bolster training and daily operations and is in addition to the annual $9 million doled out for ground crews.
Barriere Search and Rescue president Todd English says he is “very happy” now that the funding has been confirmed.
“We very much appreciate that the province has stepped up to the plate and they are developing a plan to keep us up and running,” said English.
Had the funding not come through Barriere SAR would have had to resort to more fundraising within the community which was something they were hesitant to increase; saying, they try to keep their fundraising at a certain level “as there are so many amazing groups in our community that also need support”.
English noted that a major change to Barriere SAR is that they no longer do highway rescue, which now comes under the umbrella of Barriere Fire Rescue instead.
“There was a time we had to train for everything,” said English, “Now we focus on search and rescue, although we may be called to a highway accident if a rope rescue or something similar is needed.”
English also noted that Barriere SAR is “focusing on ongoing training for all of its members and being of service to the community.”
There are currently 80 search and rescue groups made up of 2,500 volunteers, who respond to an estimated 1,700 calls per year.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the province will be creating a partnership committee, made up of Emergency Management BC staff and search and rescue representatives, to create a policy on future funding.
This committee will also be in charge of distributing the new money as needed by the various teams.
If you would like to learn more about Barriere Search and Rescue check them out on Facebook, or call Todd English at 250-672-1864, or Michell Johnson at 250-852-1354.