At SARA we want to increase our capability across rural eastern Gloucestershire to find high risk missing people quickly
On top of the initial sum, £3,600 would fund the main personal rescue clothing for a team of 12 people, so they can operate in all conditions (£300 per set, including a helmet). The smaller items such as gloves and gaiters would still need to be supplied by the individuals.
An extra £25,000 would fund a 4x4 vehicle for the rescue team, which is the next key asset we need to be able to search for people in all areas, 24x7
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We are Severn Area Rescue (SARA), the voluntary search and rescue team that provides land search, flood and water rescue and inshore lifeboats in Gloucestershire, as well as Worcestershire and parts of Gwent, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and the Black Country conurbation.
We are developing a new land search and rescue station at Cirencester, SARA Cotwsolds, to supplement the land capability at our Beachley (Chepstow) and Tewksbury rescue stations. This will enable more rapid response to incidents in the east of the county (of which there are 12-18 per year) as well as supporting those in the rest of Gloucestershire.
To support this development we are seeking crowdfunding to cover the costs of essential equipment required for training and operations of an initial core of 12 members. Specifically:
Radios x3 @ £300 = £900
Search Lamps x6 @ £50 = £300
Medical kit = £200
Lightweight stretcher = £500
To undertake searches effectively, 24/7, in all weathers and seasons, search team members need to be properly equipped.
Radios allow vital communication between team members and search control and search lamps enable effective night-time searches to be undertaken.
The medical kit allows critical care to be delivered to any injured missing person found in a remote location before they can be evacuated and handed to the care of the NHS, and a lightweight stretcher allows evacuation of casualties across rough terrain, and can even be lowered off cliffs.
in addition, all teams members will have suitable waterproofs to work in extreme weather, warm layers for winter, together with a quality helmet for working with helicopters, on steep, slippery ground, and in woodlands in high winds, gloves for rope work and searching areas of brambles etc and a rucksack to carry it all!
SARA can attend over 35 missing person searches a year, responding mainly to requests from Gloucestershire Constabulary. These incidents are for high risk vulnerable missing people; normally individuals with some form of dementia or who are despondent, but all of who’s lives are at risk if not located.
The principle aim is to locate a missing person alive as quickly as possible. If they are injured, SARA’s specialist casualty carers can deliver advanced first aid in remote locations until such time as the casualty can be evacuated into the care of the NHS. This can be to the nearest road for a transfer to an ambulance, by air ambulance or, on occasion, using the coastguards rescue helicopters. In the times a missing person is located deceased we know our actions give closure to the families involved.
SARA has no paid staff, the whole charity is managed and run by volunteers. Each rescue station has its own management committee with the organisation’s executive committee providing strategic direction and oversight. The executive committee, itself, is overseen by a board of trustees.
Members have a diverse background, including teachers, engineers, ex-service personnel, health care professionals, planning officers, police officers, lecturers, IT specialists, builders, etc. All attend training in their own time and respond 24/7 to callouts from the Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance Service and Coastguard.
The new SARA Cotswolds station is based at the Community Fire and Rescue station at Cirencester at the invitation of the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS). This will be the third SARA rescue station in Gloucestershire hosted by GFRS.
The aim for SARA Cotswolds to be a SARA Rescue Station specifically for land search/rescue. This will:
The development of this rescue station is being led by a core of experienced members who have previously served at SARA Tewkesbury.
You can join SARA Cotswolds, or any other of SARA’s rescue stations, by going to https://www.sara-rescue.org.uk/contact-us/join-us/ , complete the Application for Membership and either submit to [email protected] or mail to SARA, The Lifeboat and Rescue Station, Beachley, Chepstow, NP16 7HH.
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