Volunteers sought for Community Rescue Service unit
THE Community Rescue Service is appealing for local people to come forward and volunteer with the Antrim unit.
The Community Rescue Service provides a search and rescue response for missing persons throughout the entire region of Northern Ireland and on occasion further afield.
CSR volunteers are trained to national standards and competencies as set by ALSAR (Association of Lowland Search & Rescue), ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers, England, Wales & Northern Ireland) and the National Occupational Standards agreed by Skills for Justice in relation to all aspects of search for missing persons.
The Community Rescue Service was formed in late 2007, is a charity and is modelled on similar organisations which have been operating in other countries throughout the world for many years. The organisation is made up of a number of units throughout Northern Ireland. Each unit is able to respond 24/7, either independently or as part of a larger response.
The Community Rescue Service is a regional organisation with units strategically placed ready to respond to local, area, regional or national emergencies.
The units are trained in a number of disciplines ranging from first aid, crisis intervention and rural/urban search and rescue/recovery to river/flood incidents and swift water rescue.
The rescue units are also supported by regional assets such as search dogs, rescue swimmers and dive response.
In early 2012 Community Rescue Service set up a new unit in Antrim and started with intensive training and exercises in Search and Rescue techniques with volunteers achieving Search and Rescue Technician (SARTech) qualification with first aid courses completed including defibrillator training.
In emergencies, members from CRS Antrim Unit have responded throughout the province to support the local CRS Unit and likewise CRS Units will respond to assist the Antrim Unit with volunteers and equipment.
For example in response to a callout to Antrim from the PSNI in November 2012, CRS were able to have a major night time missing person search conducted with over 40 volunteers throughout Antrim on very short notice.
Similarly in late December 2012 volunteers from Antrim Unit assisted Belfast and other CRS Units in a major missing person search of North Belfast.
Community Rescue Service Antrim has just begun a new training season, on Tuesday nights at 7pm. Classroom training takes place in the SOL at ASDA Antrim with outdoor on the ground exercises throughout Antrim and further afield in conjunction with other CRS Units.
If you’d like to come along and volunteer email michael@communityrescue.org or telephone 07715368050.
For further information on Community Rescue Service visit www.communityrescue.org/
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Weather for Antrim
Wednesday 19 June 2013
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