Search and rescue incidents are becoming increasingly more frequent and complex. More
individuals are taking advantage of what the outdoors has to offer, use of recreational trails and
recreational vehicles is on the increase, and combined with a reliance on technology, individuals
are pushing deeper and further in the outdoors than ever before.

To address the increasing diversity of calls, the team is continually training and educating its
members in basic search skills, advanced search management, as well as technical disciplines
of high angle rescue, helicopter rescue and cold water/ice rescue. In an average year, the
team spends 500 hours training new recruits, 750 hours in course refreshers and 400 hours in
technical rescue practice and re-certifications.

This training is completed where ever the team can secure a meeting space and can include
vacant office space, church basements and RNC training facilities when available. Although
our training needs are met, these options for training space are not conducive to the teams long
term needs.

The Rovers also spend significant time in educating the general public on how to safely enjoy
recreational activities through the AdventureSmart program (www.adventuresmart.ca) as
well as Safe Boating education through Transport Canada Office of Boating Safety. In 2010,
the Rovers provided over 450 volunteer hours to the community in the delivery of prevention
education, 80% of these hours were attributed to delivering the programs to youth aged 5 to
12 years of age. Much of this education took place in school gymnasiums or community halls
and in many cases lacked basic audio visual equipment to present the programs. Such venues
typically are not conducive to capturing a youth’s attention and can be counterproductive when
the goal is to teach a child how to survive when lost in the woods.

Simply put, we have nowhere to facilitate training of our members or educate the public. To
address this concern, a building committee has undertaken a needs analysis, researched
options and developed a plan to construct a Regional Volunteer Search and Rescue Response
and Training facility in Paradise.

The facility will be constructed to post disaster standard allowing the structure to withstand
significant weather events. The facility will contain the following amenities;

• Training room equipped with classroom furnishings and multimedia teach technologies.

• Provide a venue for presentations of prevention programs to youth

• A mezzanine area for storage of practical training equipment and technical rescue training equipment

• Audio visual equipment for offsite prevention presentations

• Office space for training officers

• Storage space for operational equipment

• Kitchen facilites

• Backup electrical generator