Cornwall Search and Rescue Team

Due to the wide range of incidents the team attends, we have a large amount of resources available to us to assist us on searches and rescues.

Medical Equipment

Our main medical items are carried inside of the team vehicles. The medic bag will contain a variety of dressings and bandages, as well as more advance items including resuscitation equipment and drugs. Some of our members have undertaken the Mountain Rescue Casualty Care certificate which allows us to use certain analgesics, antiemetics and antibiotics. We also carry a defibrillator and certain medical gases.

All team members are trained in first aid and each party will carry a smaller team medical kit for initial treatment and monitoring.

Evacuation Equipment

None of our evacuation equipment will be found in the back of a standard ambulance. Although similar in function, all of the items have been specifically designed for use in remote locations and bad weather.

This includes stretchers which can be winched directly into helicopters. They can also have a wheel fitted to aid long carry offs. Specially designed casualty bags (a heavy duty weatherproof insulated bag) and vacuum mattresses (full length body splint) is also standard equipment.

Technical

The team operates the latest technical equipment to assist us with search and rescue operations. This includes real time mapping of our teams via GPS tracking. The information is relayed via our radios which includes a fixed site repeater which gives us wide coverage of the county.

We also utilise specialist software which can pinpoint the location of lost people using their smartphones.


Water Safety and Rope Rescue

Occasionally team members have to use ropes to access a casualty or to enable them to be rescued safely. All team members receive basic training in use of this equipment, however we also have a dedicated mine rescue team.

Alot of our operations also take place around moving or still water, therefore we have throwbags, personal floatation devices and other specialist items to ensure we can work safely.

Vehicles

All of this equipment is carried in three vehicles which are located at the busier areas of the county.

Land Rover 110 Ambulance

The vehicle has been adapted to carry one of our "Bell" stretchers and it is particularly useful during long evacuations, deployment of team members and severe weather.

Peugeot Boxer Control Vehicle and Ambulance

This forms the main hub of our operations on an incident. The front of the vehicle provides a control area with radios and search management equipment and mapping. This area can be quickly converted to an ambulance and securely carry a stretcher. The back of the vehicle has the search and rescue gear along with incident support equipment.

Search Dogs

The Team regularly uses specially trained dogs to help to locate missing people. These dogs are normally air scenting dogs which can cover huge areas quickly and effectively. They operate off the lead and will indicate to their handler when they have found someone.

It takes a lot of time and effort to train a search dog. The handlers have to have at least 12 months operational call out experience before they can commence their training with the Search and Rescue Dog Association. It can take between 18 months and 3 years to train a dog and this training is every week, and must also include other mountainous areas such as Wales, Lake District and Scotland.