Search and rescue can beckon day or night
Ever since she was a child watching her friend’s dad participate
in missions, Becca Frager has wanted to be part of a search and
rescue team. Last year, she decided to join the Larimer County
Search and Rescue team to give back to her community while
attending college.
“I go out and hike trails and go to the mountains and I’m
thankful that there are people who are willing to help me and that
I can help out too,” Frager, a junior wildlife biology major,
said.
Search and Rescue team members are unpaid, highly-trained
professionals who devote much of their time to helping their
community through their search and rescue efforts. However, most of
the team members have other commitments in the community, such as
their families, careers, and, for some CSU students, classes and
homework.
“I’m a full-time student, and I work 12-hour shifts. You might
be tired, but it’s definitely worth it,” Frager said.
Search and Rescue is a resource used by the sheriff’s department
to help find people who are lost, stranded or hurt in the mountains
and need assistance.
“The types of missions we have are the typical lost person, the
missing hunter, fisherman or child – that’s a big one,” said Don
Davis, the Larimer County Search and Rescue manager. “Or the hikers
who tripped and fell and are (hurt) three miles up the trail.”
When a person calls 911 for a missing family member or a
distress call, the sheriff’s department contacts the search and
rescue team to be sent out into the field and assist with the
mission.
“It usually happens at night because the common scenario is that
people don’t show up (at home) and it starts getting dark and then
they get worried and call in,” Davis said.
Search and Rescue members carry pagers with them so they are
able to respond at all times, whether in class or at work.
Dan O’Sullivan, a natural resource junior, has been called upon
to participate in missions during class and has noticed that his
professors are considerate of his urgent need to leave.
“Teachers have been quite flexible, but if I can’t leave right
then I go right after class,” he said. “I can always make stuff
up.”
O’Sullivan had wanted to join search and rescue ever since he
was in middle school when he learned about the program.
“It was something I always wanted to do, so I joined when I was
a freshman,” he said. “I wanted to be able to use my skills to help
people.”
His teammate, Eric Foster, a nontraditional freshman watershed
science major, has made search and rescue a priority. Foster, who
works for a landscaping company, has been called to search and
rescue missions while working.
“My work is very understanding and supportive of SAR,” he said.
“They know when the pager goes off, it’s time for me to go.”
Foster considers search and rescue a serious commitment and has
been involved with every mission he is able to attend in Larimer
County during the year he has served with search and rescue.
“Other than me being out of town there hasn’t been a time that I
haven’t responded to a call,” he said.
Applicants are considered in regards to availability and their
ability to work in a group setting during the three-month training
session and on the job.
“We are looking for people who will be available anytime day or
night but we realize there’s family and there’s jobs that the
person is also involved in so we need to have enough membership so
we have enough people to pull off a mission,” Davis said.
CSU students who are involved with search and rescue are not
only helping the community, but are also getting experience for
future employment.
Foster plans to go to graduate school to study snow hydrology
and work with avalanches.
“I want to work with snow control in the backcountry so this is
a big part of my future, so it’s good training and it’s fun,”
Foster said.
Students who are interested in becoming a team member for
Larimer County Search and Rescue can find contact information on
the organization’s Web site at www.larimercountysar.org.
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