Join BSAR

Like all volunteer organisations, BSAR must continually recruit to to maintain the support base that we provide. we are always looking to increase our membership, so if this is of interest please use our contact form, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Search & Rescue Personnel

BSAR is a volunteer organisation, but members are given a high level of training. All volunteers are trained by Lowland Search and Rescue qualified search instructors. Ongoing training is conducted weekly at our meeting locations.

We always welcome new volunteers – full training is given so no experience is necessary. Most members have to fit training and call-outs around their jobs and families, so work and home commitments are not a problem. We also have non-operational members who assist with fund raising, publicity and training.

Because of our diverse roles, we provide a range of opportunities and experiences found in no other organisation. We offer training in abseiling, navigation, basic survival skills, Flood response, First Aid, incident management and radio communication. Finally you will get the opportunity to put your training into practice supporting your local community.

Dispatchers

We also have a vacancies for Dispatchers, working from home or work, Dispatchers are responsible for issuing callout SMSs to our members and receiving responses. They also use on-line and paper maps to help members find their way to incidents, and provide a point of contact for members not yet ‘on-scene’. There are no physical requirements, but volunteers need to have a PC and be reasonably computer literate. A knowledge of map-reading would be a bonus but full training can be given.

Support staff

We always welcome volunteers to assist with non-operational roles such as fund-raising, training, catering etc.

Membership requirements

The sole qualification for unit membership is a genuine desire to help and assist with our aims. However, operational members must be at least 18, and able to walk 5 miles in two hours – you do not need to be super-fit!

From our experience, all volunteers have something that they can contribute to the unit. However small, their efforts are always acknowledged and rewarded.
If you don’t think operational duties are for you, but would still like to assist, we also have non-operational members who help with fund raising, publicity and training.

Many volunteers initially tell us that they are afraid of heights or confined spaces. This is never a problem. Often we can help and with suitable one-to-one coaching the members are soon confident.

Commitments

As a professional and expert organisation, we expect all members to come to training on a fairly regular basis, but this does not mean every Wednesday evening. Our members are volunteers and have other lives to live. Family and employer must often come before the unit.

We do ask that members attend live incidents whenever possible – this is what their training is provided for. Incidents during the working day are always a challenge. Some members are able to leave work to attend a search – others may be able to assist at a later stage. We also ask that members occasionally assist with the unit’s fund-raising activities. These are often at weekends.