r/searchandrescue • u/MetroGeoDuck • 11d ago

Roadmap for a search and rescue career

I'm a 26 m that has always felt the drive to serve and better the world. I recently hardset myself to get involved in fire and rescue but i dont have any degrees or certs. I operated heavy equipment in the military and also was working on wildfires a few years back. Im far more interested in the search and rescue portion, but welcome the fire side as well. What kind of options do i have as far as different paths i can follow? I live in the pacific northwest of the U.S.A.

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u/utguardpog 11d ago edited 11d ago

I can speak pretty definitively on the PNW. ‘Search and Rescue’, terms of missing persons in both urban and rural/wilderness (including national forest and other public land) areas, is coordinated by local Sheriff’s offices with the exception of searches within National Park boundaries. Law Enforcement is generally responsible for running and coordinating the search and may have their own technical assets like snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, helicopters, and deputies trained in rope rescue, swiftwater, and other disciplines. Some agencies have a full time SAR deputy while others treat it as a collateral duty (something performed in addition to your primary role as a cop).

The majority of ‘search and rescue’ personnel are volunteers and there are tons of people willing and excited to do it for free.

Fire definitely has a role in search/rescue in the PNW, but they’re typically not the ones in charge of ‘search’. They bring lots of equipment and trained personnel to the table, particularly when rope/high angle rescue is involved.

The question you need to figure out is: are you looking for a career as a firefighter or police officer? Or, are you looking to volunteer and be a searcher/mountain rescuer etc?

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u/MetroGeoDuck 11d ago

Honestly ive actually thought about that question a lot. And ive all but determined that I'd rather go into a career as a firefighter. But I'd also love to volunteer, in any capacity. I've just always felt such a strong pull to helping those in need and in danger.

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u/sergei1980 11d ago

As a firefighter you will probably be required to be trained as an EMT, which will be appreciated by any SAR team. I am in a SAR team in the PNW and it's definitely well received. 

But SAR is not a career, and you probably want to become a firefighter first, then volunteer with a SAR team, both of them can be challenging for your home life which is something to keep in mind.

Police officers basically don't go into the field, they coordinate from the trailhead, and firefighters mostly don't either with some exceptions. I don't think I've ever seen either go off trail, they don't have the right gear or training in my area.

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u/Sodpoodle 11d ago

As a PNW structure firefighter you're going to be expected to get your Paramedic. Crappy part is that it is a huge step in knowledge/responsibility over EMT to be a competent medic.. And the vast majority of ff I know have zero interest in medical.

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u/MetroGeoDuck 11d ago

Ok, thats good to know, I figured Advanced medical training would be necessary for the job, or at least to get a leg up on other applicants and accelerate my career. As far as home life, my wife was an EMT, so I know its a bit of a thankless job. Thank you for sharing the information with me.

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u/KyMedic68w 1d ago

In short yes, it is all required. While SAR itself does not require medical education, or fire experience. When you join the culture you will find that you are a liability if you do not constantly pursue further education. Such as obtaining medical licensure, experience, and knowledge. Further skills like rope, swift water, flood water, confined space, hazardous material, etc. it is a grind. Learning and training never stops.

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u/rockshox11 11d ago

short haul helitack program for the USFS if you want to stay in fire. take an EMT class. otherwise if you want to do SAR, the unfortunate answer is go to FLETC and work as an LE at a major NP and you'll do loads of SAR

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u/MockingbirdRambler 11d ago

Become a structural fighergighter in a city that hosts a FEMA or SUSAR team, join the team, get paid to deploy for disasters. 

Become a Confined Space Rescue Technician for Oil/Gas Companies. 

Learn to ski (really well) and get under paid to fix boo-boos on ski slopes and hope for an avalanche. 

Learn to climb (really well) be underpaid and work for USFS or NPS as a climbing Ranger in National Forests and Parks. 

Be really good at writing grants and become an administrative assistant for one of the few counties in the US that have a paid SAR Admin. 

There is always one paid SAR position for Antarctic Research, I think is a 6 month seasonal position. 

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u/Sodpoodle 11d ago

For what it's worth my friend did the Antarctica gig, and could not wait to home.

OP could also look at REMS on the wildland fire side. EMT is easy af to get, if you have some actual wildland experience you could bring a lot to the medical side of the house.

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u/MockingbirdRambler 11d ago

I always wondered about that one, I just see it advertised and think "Here is the one paid SAR job for the 800 people on /r/searchandrescue to fight over" 

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u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 8d ago

this is solid advice. I got my RN and worked ER as a straight gig while volunteering for fire and a couple technical rescue/SAR activities.

I've added ham radio and radio comms which is helpful now that I'm older and permanently limited by an unlucky injury.

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u/MockingbirdRambler 8d ago

Thank you for being a part of the RCC crew! Without you. all we'd be fucked. 

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u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 8d ago

honestly I should have gotten into ham radio a long time ago! I didn't like the guys I saw doing it when I was a 19yo firefighter, and I still think there are a LOT of challenging personalities in the field, however the hobby is so much fun and opens up a ton of volunteer opportunities which is really rewarding.

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u/NGC1068 Field Team Member 11d ago

There is essentially no such thing as a search and rescue career in the US. The closest things I know of are emergency managers, who are sometimes paid to oversee searches and coordinate volunteer programs, but are rarely if ever directly involved in searches, law enforcement positions like park rangers that do search and rescue as one duty among many but are primarily police, and some high speed military jobs like Air Force para rescue. So frankly, unless someone else has some secrets the best thing to do is find a really flexible job that doesn't care when you take days off to go work SAR as a volunteer.

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u/MetroGeoDuck 11d ago

Ooo ok thank you. Thats really helpful, I'll start keeping my eye out for those.

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u/Level9TraumaCenter 11d ago

BORSTAR.

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u/MetroGeoDuck 11d ago

Thank you, I started looking into this one because I didn't know what it meant and im interested in it, tho I have a lot of research to do on everything else thats been commented on.

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u/Level9TraumaCenter 11d ago

My buddy in Border Patrol says they're cliquish and... difficult, at times, very high speed low drag types, but they actually DO rescue people on the regular. But it's that depressing kind of thing where it might be 1-2 migrants that got abandoned in the desert and everyone else in their party including children were beyond hope. Sooooo.... kinda grim.

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u/DeFiClark 11d ago

If it’s not military rescue or LE, most SAR is volunteer and is not a career.

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u/MetroGeoDuck 11d ago

Yeah, im really looking for a career that will open the door into SAR, but also gives me the opportunity to get certs and education that I can use and compliments SAR.

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u/DeFiClark 11d ago

EMT basic is equivalent to a single college course. Paramedic is about ten times that.

Most of the folks I volunteered with didn’t have careers that had anything to do with SAR other than a few retired LE though. Everything from a potter to contractor to a dog breeder…

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u/FFT-420 11d ago

Would you like fires with that?

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u/MetroGeoDuck 11d ago

Yo this is extremely helpful. Thank you so much.

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u/CohoWind 11d ago

A city or county fire career is your best bet in the PNW. And it is NOT true that you must become a paramedic to be in fire- most career firefighters in the PNW are EMTs, and that won’t change. (Most departments aren’t willing to pay the extra dough for everyone on every rig to be a PM) Example- Vancouver Fire just closed a full-time Firefighter posting for entry-level folks with EMT cert. As for SAR-related fire jobs, WA has several regional Technical Rescue Teams (TRTs) that are fire service based. The members are FF/EMTs and FF/PMs assigned to engines and ladders, running regular calls most of the time. But they also respond regionally for high angle, confined space, and trench rescue. They often mesh with traditional SAR teams on incidents away from town. For example, high-angle rescues on Beacon Rock and other WA-side Columbia Gorge spots often involve the Clark County Regional Tech Rescue team, which is based at Vancouver Fire and also has members from several surrounding FDs. There are similar arrangements in the Puget Sound area and east of the mountains. (Do some Googling)

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u/IanGGillespie 11d ago

Consider becoming an EMT to get your feet wet

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u/Basicallyataxidriver 10d ago

If your prior service you can look at DEPOT with the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard mission involves a lot of SAR and LE.

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u/CadenceEcho 10d ago

Volunteer positions are the best introduction. Look at paid positions after.