Union County Search and Rescue. A local Volunteer Army
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, September 8th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY – Volunteers are the backbone of Union County’s emergency services. From the firefighters and paramedics working on the front lines to the dispatchers and support personnel that keep these agencies running, the hard work and selflessness of volunteers continues to keep residents safe. Union County Search and Rescue (SAR) is no exception, boasting the county’s largest volunteer EMS team and the versatility to respond to nearly any situation.
Organizationally, SAR falls under the management of the Union County Sheriff’s Office, with authority being delegated to SAR’s mission overseers who in turn coordinate the actual volunteer team. Typically, search and rescue and other mission calls are received by a SAR dispatcher, passed to the search and rescue coordinator, currently Nick Vora, who may then activate SAR and dispatch the team wherever they’re needed. The volunteers themselves are organized under the Search and Rescue Association, a non-profit organization that manages grants and donations.
Despite their name, SAR take on far more than just search and rescue missions in remote areas. As described by Vora, “While search and rescue is our name, it’s the largest all-hazards response organization in the county. Some of our larger volunteer fire departments have between 20 and 24 volunteers. Search and rescue, at 40-45 people, is the largest group of trained individuals that we can activate to respond to an emergency.”
Fire season, for example, can see SAR dispatched to help deliver evacuation notices and manage road closures in threatened areas in addition to the more standard work of rescuing lost and injured persons. SAR may even be called up to help manage emergency simulations and training, as explained by Vora:
“In June we did a Cascadia earthquake exercise where we spent two days simulating a major emergency in union county after a large earthquake. We had several SAR volunteers in our emergency operations center playing very key roles in that structure in the exercise.”
It can’t be understated, however, that the success and efficiency of Union County SAR relies on the continued commitment of volunteers, cooperation between EMS agencies and local businesses and the support of the community. The complete lack of competition between districts and the general willingness to assist EMS teams during major crisis allows the response process to run smoothly. As said by Vora:
“Union county relies on volunteers. There really isn’t an aspect of emergency services in the county that isn’t reliant on volunteers. I would just like to shout out my appreciation for volunteers but also encouragement for people who are looking for ways to support their community and to be involved, whether it’s EMS or firefighting. Maybe you’re not someone that wants to be out in the field, but you could support our emergency operations center as staff.”
