NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release 2009PSSG0012-000252 August 24, 2009

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General Provincial Emergency Program

 

PROVINCE FUNDS EXTRA INSURANCE FOR RESCUE GROUPS

 

VICTORIA – The Province will build on the insurance it already provides to individual search and rescue volunteers, adding $180,000 for liability coverage to protect the volunteers’ societies, Public Safety Minister Kash Heed and Minister of Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman announced today.

 

“B.C.’s 85 active search and rescue groups enhance front-line public safety from highways to the back country,” said Heed. “The investment we’re making now to better protect these organizations will enable them to remain focused on their primary goal: delivering exceptional search and rescue services.”

 

The Province currently provides WCB and third-party liability coverage for individual SAR and specialty rescue volunteers when they are deployed by the government.  This additional insurance policy – funded through the community gaming grant program at the Ministry of Housing and Social Development – will also provide third-party liability coverage for the societies and associations these volunteers belong to. Search and Rescue teams in B.C. received nearly $1.7 million in gaming grants last year.

 

“The Province has had to make some very challenging decisions regarding the use of limited gaming funds,” said Coleman. “Search and Rescue is a critical public safety resource, and maintaining this service is a top priority for this government.”

 

B.C.’s Search and Rescue teams respond to an average of 1,000 incidents per year. The approximately 2,700 unpaid volunteers donate 100,000+ hours annually on SAR callouts. Approximately 95 per cent of people are found or rescued within the first 24 hours of a volunteer SAR group being activated.

 

“In today’s modern world, no one can comfortably discharge their duties if they feel exposed to liability and SAR volunteers are no different,” said BCSARA president Don Bindon. “This successful initiative required the co-operation and hard work of a number of individuals, agencies and government, and we appreciate everyone’s support and assistance to B.C.’s public safety lifeline.”

 

BCSARA is a non-profit society that helps provide volunteer search and rescue services in B.C. by facilitating access to funding, educating the general public on outdoor safety, and providing volunteers with a common link to information and resources.

 

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Contact:

Media Relations Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General 250 356-6961.

 

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