Coquitlam Search and Rescue

Coquitlam SAR is a Volunteer Search and Rescue team based in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.

Operating under the Provincial Emergency Program and tasked by local law enforcement and emergency personnel, we are responsible for inland water, wilderness and urban search and rescue in an area bounded by Indian Arm on the west, Pitt Lake on the east, Garibaldi Park to the north, and the Fraser River to the south. This primary area is over 1000km² and includes some of the most rugged and inaccessible terrain in the southwest region of the Province of British Columbia.

We also provide assistance to residents during natural disasters such as floods, forest fires, and earthquakes, and respond to requests for mutual aid from other SAR teams in BC, and in Washington State to the south.

Coquitlam Search and Rescue is dedicated to

providing professional Search, Rescue, First Aid and pre-hospital care to people in need
performing in a responsible, accountable and compassionate manner
teaching wilderness public safety education
striving for excellence in our service, and dedication to the team and our community.

This web site contains information about the team, pictures of us in action, an ongoing blog of our activities, acts as a portal for information about wildnerness safety and provides contact information for the public to see what a volunteer SAR team does.

Search for Andrew Koenig

News - Search
Written by Coquitlam SAR
Friday, 26 February 2010
Coquitlam SAR joined North Shore Rescue and Lions Bay SAR to search Stanley Park for a missing male. American actor Andrew Koenig had been missing since Feb 14^th. Vancouver Police lead the search of the parks trail system and shoreline. A large group of friends also participated in the search. Unfortunately, Andrew Koenig was discovered deceased by a group of Andrew’s friends on Feb 25^th

Coquitlam SAR and the Olympics

News - General News
Written by Tom Zajac
Monday, 15 February 2010
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic games are officially underway. As a volunteer team involved with outdoor activities, is it not surprising Coquitlam SAR members are doing their part to help out. At last count 11 or our SAR members are in various positions around Vancouver and Whistler. Two members are providing specialized helicopter rescue services to the Downhill events at Whistler Mountain. One member has already been involved with a HETS extraction of US racer Stacey Cook after a crash while training. Two members are providing athlete event medical care. Freestyle events at Cypress Mountain Hockey events at UBC Thunderbird and Canada Hockey Place Two members are embedded in the Provincial Regional Emergency Operations Center (PREOC) responsible for coordinating emergency response for the Olympic area. One member is part of the Police team in Whistler as part of the Integrated Security Unit. A member is involved with transportation of athletes and dignitaries. A member is part of the Weasel Workers on the Downhill events in Whistler. A member is volunteering on Grouse Mountain, a major international media location. Of course during games time, Coquitlam SAR is responsible for our usual Search and Rescue capabilities as well as mutual aid to other agencies. During the opening ceremonies, Coquitlam SAR was put on standby to assist North Shore Rescue with a possible missing person on Seymour. She was located safe at home. Preparations for SAR operations during the Olympic period took a large amount of effort. Coquitlam SAR members liaised with other SAR groups and many outside agencies to work around Olympic specific search and rescue issues. This includes airspace restrictions, planning with Blackcomb Helicopters, and security restrictions on the North Shore mountains.

2010 Starts With a Busy Weekend

News - Search
Written by Tom Zajac
Sunday, 03 January 2010
Coquitlam SAR started 2010 off with three requests for our assistance in the first weekend. On January 1^st, Coquitlam SAR was requested by the RCMP to search the PoCo Trail system for a lost male. The man had been on an all day walk along the PoCo Trail. Due to a pre-existing medical condition, his family became concerned he may have become lost when he didn’t return before darkness. Searchers were mobilized and began searching the trails and parks areas by foot and Argo. An RCMP Air Service helicopter also search by air. Just after 10pm, the man walked up to our command vehicle, unaware he was the subject of our search. On January 2^nd, Coquitlam SAR was mobilized by the RCMP for swiftwater search and rescue operation. A male was seen jumping into the Coquitlam river from a bridge and was swept downstream in the cold fast moving water. The male was spotted and pulled ashore by RCMP members before searchers could respond. He was taken to hospital with hypothermia. Read a media report for more information. On January 3^rd, Hope SAR requested the assistance of Coquitlam SAR to participate in an ongoing search of the Fraser River for lost male. The young man was believed to fall from the Hope Fraser bridge early on January 1st. Coquitlam 3, our Polaris rigid hull inflatable search boat was used to search the Fraser river between the Pitt and Pattullo bridges. This search is ongoing. Read a media report for more information.

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