We are Salt Spring Search and Rescue
Salt Spring Island Search & Rescue has been active in our community since 1989. We are a dedicated group of approximately 40 unpaid professional volunteers trained to search for, rescue and assist missing persons. Our members are highly skilled in teamwork, ground search tactics, first aid, wilderness navigation, tracking, survival, radio communications, high-angle rope rescue, and helicopter safety.
We serve Salt Spring Island and the surrounding Southern Gulf Islands. We also respond to mutual aid requests from neighbouring SAR groups on Vancouver Island and mainland BC.
Salt Spring SAR is the perfect volunteer vocation for islanders with a passion for the outdoors who are eager to challenge themselves, in a friendly and supportive environment.
Lost, injured, or facing natural disaster, we are here 24/7, 365 days/year with NO COST for SAR Services.
Membership Recruitment
contact us for more information
Learn rewarding new skills in first aid, wilderness survival and high-angle rope rescue
Save lives and reunite lost people with their family and friends
Join a friendly, enthusiastic group of islanders who are committed to ongoing personal development and community support
Challenge yourself to try something new while helping others on Salt Spring Island and beyond
Be part of an effort that unites more than 3,000 volunteers from all walks of life in 79 SAR groups across British Columbia
Task report: February 5th, 2026, 1500hrs.
#ssisar was tasked by @bc_ehs to assist in the technical evacuation of an injured person who had slipped on some wet rocks down a hiking trail in #ruckleprovincialpark which resulted in injuries requiring a stretcher carry over rough terrain.
Working shoulder to shoulder with @ssifr members who had arrived on scene, and provided initial care and treatment the #GSAR medical team concluded based on the injuries sustained that the safest and most comfortable option was to evacuate by sea from a nearby beach. The injured subject was repackaged in a vacuum spine board and #ReadyHeat blanket for better hypothermia and injury control, with additional pain relief and was stretcher carried by SSIFR and GSAR members to the awaiting @RCMSAR 20 - Pender Island vessel nearby.
Subject was handed over to @bcehs paramedics in Ganges for further treatment and transport to local hospital in stable condition with their pain well managed. This response demonstrated the incredible teamwork and collaboration between multiple agencies, all working together to help an individual in need. Fantastic work to all involved, this call highlights the fantastic working relationships we have on Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands. A very special thank you to the incredible bystanders on scene for all their assistance.
DYK? saltspringsar has #nocostforrescue and our dedicated professional volunteers are available 24/7/365d
We are excited to have the opportunity to co-present the award winning film EVEREST DARK, hosted by the Salt Spring Film Festival. Playing at ArtSpring on January 21st, 2026 at 1930hrs.
Prior to the screening there will be a short showcase of some of the skills, training and cutting edge equipment that our local volunteers provide to our community at #nocostforrescue, 24/7/365
Buy your tickets through the link below, and we hope to see you there!Don't miss Best of the Fests: EVEREST DARK on Wed. Jan. 21 at ArtSpring, co-presented by Salt Spring Island Search and Rescue!
Behold the breathtaking beauty of Mount Everest as you‘ve never seen it before – through the eyes of the Sherpa people who worship the mountain as Chomolungma, the sacred Mother Goddess of the World.
Featuring spectacular aerial cinematography and reverential respect for a distinctly non-European worldview, don’t miss this jaw-dropping, award-winning film from Vancouver filmmaker Jereme Watt.
Lest we Forget.
Ground Search & Rescue
All SAR members take an minimum 80-hour course when they join the team. This course includes the fundamental training in the following areas:
search types and techniques
wilderness navigation (map, compass, GPS)
survival skills / personal preparedness
communications
rope management
rescue techniques
basic tracking
helicopter safety
basic avalanche awareness
basic swift water rescue
Salt Spring Island Search and Rescue (SAR) Society operates under the oversight of the Emergency Management BC (EMBC) program. We operate with dedicated volunteers trained to find and help missing or lost individuals, as well as provide assistance during natural disasters like forest fires and earthquakes.
We are responsible for wilderness and urban ground Search and Rescue missions, including inland waters and tidal shorelines.
Our primary geographic area of responsibility is Salt Spring Island and the southern Gulf Islands, which includes Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Saturna, and more than 50 smaller islands in the vicinity. We also provide mutual aid support to other SAR groups in British Columbia, as requested.
SAR members are skilled in first aid, tracking, wilderness navigation and survival, radio communications, high-angle rope rescue and helicopter safety. The group has been active since 1989 and our team has approximately 40 men and women, ranging in ages from 21 to 70.
Contact:
Salt Spring Search and Rescue
261 Fulford-Ganges Road
Salt Spring Island BC V8K 2K6
Phone: (250) 526-0095
Email: president@ssisar.org
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