Comox Valley Regional District

CV Search and Rescue

03:49 11°C

May 2013

Regional District Board & Committee
Agendas
Minutes

COMOX VALLEY SEARCH AND RESCUE

The citizens of the Comox Valley are fortunate to have a number of organizations that provide search and rescue services through many dedicated volunteers.

There are currently five different community organizations that provide valuable public safety services to residents and visitors in the Comox Valley. On average in a given year, these organizations are deployed close to 300 times to incidents that include water safety, missing persons and vehicle accidents. Volunteers undergo extensive training in order to respond to search and rescue incidents.

The organizations that currently receive operational funding assistance from the CVRD include:

	Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue (Comox Valley Ground Search & Rescue) Responds to requests made by the RCMP to provide assistance in search and rescue operations or civil disasters.
	Comox Valley Marine Rescue (Comox Valley Marine Rescue) Operates out of Station #60 and is a Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary marine search and rescue unit located in Comox.
	Courtenay Fire Department (Rescue unit #71) (Courtenay Fire Rescue 71) Unit #71 responds to Courtenay fire protection district, Merville fire protection district, Black Creek fire protection district specified area bylaw no. 34 and mutual aid agreement areas. This unit is used to transport specialized rescue equipment to incidents such as motor vehicle accidents, industrial accidents, cave-ins and confined space situations.
	Cumberland Fire Department (Rescue vehicle unit #4 and rescue boat unit #8) (Village of Cumberland) Rescue unit # 4 responds to motor vehicle accidents, medical incidents and emergencies and provides assistance to the RCMP and Comox Valley ground search and rescue. In addition to rescue unit #4, the Cumberland Fire Department also deploys a rescue boat (unit #8) on Comox Lake during the peak season of May to October. This unit is deployed for water based incidents on Comox Lake, performs fire patrols and can assist with small spills and provides assistance to the RCMP, Comox Valley ground search and rescue and the BC Forest Service.
	Comox Fire Department (Rescue unit #36) (Town of Comox Fire Department) Unit # 36 responds to medical emergencies (First Responder Program) as well as responding to rescue incidents and motor vehicle accidents.