Search & Rescue

Monthly Meetings

NCSSAR holds monthly meetings in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at the Eric Rood Administrative Center on the first Monday of every month at 6:30pm (Excluding Labor day, which is the following Tuesday and in December when there is no monthly meeting). Members of the public interested in joining NCSSAR are encouraged to attend a monthly meeting to learn more about the program and determine if they are interested in joining the NCSSAR team.

Qualification Requirements

Becoming a member of NCSSAR is a commitment and requires dedication to the team. The basic academy consists of classroom sessions and physical testing, which is followed up by an evaluation. The following are the requirements to become a Type II searcher:

Fitness Hike

Fitness Hike held on a Saturday at 9:00am. The Fitness Hike is 8 miles long, with a 20 pound pack, and about 1,000 feet of elevation gain. The Fitness hike must be completed within 3 hours.

Wilderness First Aid & CPR Training

Wilderness First Aid and CPR Training (NCSSAR conducts in house training or you may show proof of an equivalent)

Classroom Sessions

There are 6 classroom sessions that occur once a week from about 6:00pm to 10:00pm. The classes cover introduction to SAR, ICS/SEMS, 24 hour pack requirements, crime scene awareness, Interview Skills, Clue Awareness, Search Tactics, Map and Compass, GPS, Helicopter Safety Training, Man Tracking, Radio Communications, Basic Knot Tying, Rough Terrain, Litter Loading and Transport, and many other skills.

Field Day

Field Day is the Saturday following the 6 classroom sessions. Field day is set up to be like evaluation day so that you can test the skills you have learned, but you are still in a learning environment and may ask questions to make sure you fully understand and may develop your skills appropriately.

Evaluation Day

Evaluation Day is held on a Saturday typically about a month after field day. This allows members to demonstrate their skills, because unlike Field Day you cannot ask questions during Evaluation Day. It is a necessity to test the proficiency of members to ensure they have the proper skills when it comes to deploying in the field.

Upon completion of the qualification requirements, members are provided their first set of uniforms at no cost and added to the call-out list so they can help the community when people go missing or become lost and endangered. As stated in the beginning of the qualification requirements, this is a commitment and requires dedication to the team.

Submit an Application

If you enjoy the outdoors and are looking to support your community consider joining NCSSAR. You can fill out a portion of the SAR Application (PDF) using Adobe Reader. After filling out the application you can email it to us (ncssarnc@gmail.com). Please put your first and last name in the subject line of the email.

The application will be reviewed by the supervisor in charge of Search and Rescue who will be in touch with you regarding the process. Thank you for your interest in NCSSAR and helping the community.