The Washoe County sheriff's Search and Rescue teams are looking for new members. There's an open house Saturday, February 22 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Regional Public Training Center on Spectrum Boulevard. The program has five teams, each with specialized skills.
"The Hasty Team is our technical rescuers," said Anthony Frabbiele, New Member Coordinator for the Hasty Team. "We do backcountry, swift water rescue, dive rescue, high-angle ropes, mine rescue, a lot of the things stuff that require ropes and things of a technical nature."
They're looking for people that love the outdoors and want to help others.
"We're hoping for people with experience, hopefully, in the backcountry," Frabbiele said. "Hiking, long-distance backpacking, those kinds of things are ideal candidates. We're also looking for scuba divers right now. With the ropes stuff, that's all technical, so we don't expect anyone to come on knowing ropes and mine rescue and stuff like that, so we train everybody up."
It's an all-volunteer program, and it can be a rewarding one.
"It's a fantastic opportunity to help the community, help your neighbors," said Brian Block, President of WCSAR. "When we go out and find somebody, these are the people we live with, these are our neighbors that are hurt out in the wilderness and we get to go out and save them, what's better than that?"
There's an initial academy for new members and the teams train weekly.
"It's fun," Frabbiele said. "I always like to say I get to volunteer my time, help the community, and they let me jump out of helicopters."
The work is rewarding.
"It's a great feeling," Block said. "You go home at night and you can't sleep because you were thinking about that fantastic search and rescue that you were just on, so it's a wonderful experience."
For many, it's a lifelong passion.
"I've always had an interest in it," Frabbiele said. "I started in scouts and always thought search and rescue was something I wanted to join up with. I went to a couple of meetings through a friend of a friend and that's how I got started 13 years ago."
"We have people that have been on the team for 20 years," Block said.
More information: washoesar.org
