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CCSAR sees record year for number of calls

Most MVIs are rollovers, Chief Rick White says
14016886_web1_copy_181024-WLT-CCSAR-MVI-Record

Central Cariboo Search and Rescue is seeing a record year when it comes to responding to motor vehicle incidents (MVI).

Chief Rick White said historically the record has been 174 calls in a year.

“We surpassed that a few weeks ago,” he told the Tribune Sunday.

Last week alone they had five calls. Two were for ATV accidents on Monday, Oct. 15, one on the 500 Road and another at a gravel pit near Big Lake.

“We were told to stand down on both of those before we arrived,” White said.

Then on Wednesday, Oct. 17 crews attended an MVI on Dog Creek Road near the Chimney Lake Road involving two vehicles.

“I don’t know what the causes are of all these accidents, but I do know there were slippery conditions on Dog Creek Road that days.”

CCSAR is doing well as far as membership goes, he added.

The auto-extrication team has 26 members, compared to 21 years ago when White started and there were 12 or 13 volunteers.

“It’s really grown,” he added. “I think it has to do a lot with public awareness.”

Read more: PHOTO GALLERY: Emergency response exercise strengthens all-agency communication

All of CCSAR’s members are volunteers and with that comes training opportunities.

Two new members — Dawn and Kevin Unruh — recently completed three days of team leader training in Williams Lake with 18 other people from across the province.

“They met three hours Friday night, on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. and back on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the middle of September.”

White said the Unruhs joined CCSAR just before the 2017 wildfires and have also completed a 90-hour ground search and rescue certification course.

Read more: Wildfire season keeps Search and Rescue busy

“Dawn is in New Westminster this weekend taking a ground search and rescue instructor’s course.”

Eyeing the future, White said in January or February 2019 the plan is to host an ice rescue course on frozen Williams Lake.

They had hoped to do it last year, but the certified instructors they’d hired had to back out because they were involved in a search.

“This time we will hire a certified company to come and teach us,” he said. “The same with swift water training course. We hope to put one on, probably May or June.”

Read more: CCSAR adds jet boat to its fleet



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Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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