Brandon Regional Search and Rescue Association 
 Celebrating GSAR Responders: HWF Roundtable Webinar |
Join Us for a Special Roundtable Webinar Honouring GSAR Responders Across Canada In celebration of Emergency Preparedness Week, the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) invites you to a dynamic roundtable webinar featuring volunteers from the SARVAC-Humanitarian Workforce (HWF) Program. This online panel will highlight the dedication and impact of Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) responders who have answered the call during real-world emergencies—from last year’s Full Scale Exercise (FSX) in Ottawa to the wildfire evacuations in Labrador City What to Expect: Firsthand accounts of deployment experiences Insights into the SARVAC HWF Program and its national impact. A deeper look at how GSAR volunteers contribute to Canada’s emergency response network. Whether you’re a current volunteer, considering joining, or simply passionate about emergency management and community resilience, this is a valuable opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired. Stay tuned for our upcoming guest speaker announcement. Have a topic you’d like us to cover during the webinar? Send your suggestions to: socialmedia@sarvac.ca — we’d love to hear from you. Let’s celebrate the heart of SAR in Canada—our volunteers. MAY7th 7:00–08:15PM EST REGISTER NOW Learn More About the HWF Program: Watch last year’s info session and explore our YouTube playlist  https://adventuresmart.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e5cb478931a52f174bae095f8&id=5a7c1156de&e=618061b191 |
| A Special Thank You To all participants and volunteers involved in Ground Search and Rescue across Canada thank you for your commitment, compassion, and courage. Your efforts are making a lasting difference in communities across the country, and this event is a celebration of your remarkable contributions. We’re honoured to share your stories.Let’s celebrate the heart of SAR in Canada—our volunteers. |
| Copyright © *2025* *The Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada*, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 24 McNamara Drive, Paradise, NL A1L 0A6 |
As a Search and Rescue Team, we must be prepared to assist the community when needed. To do this, we must be ready to deploy when requested , in all types of situations. We do this by being prepared ourselves. If our family is prepared then we can assist the community without worrying about them.
To do this we must be:
- Aware of the hazards in our community
Learn about the hazards that can lead to emergencies.
2. Next we have to prepare our families for the potential emergencies.
Learn how to prepare your household for emergencies.
For futher information check:
https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/index-en.aspx
Strengthening Canada’s Disaster Response: SARVAC’s First-Ever MIST Workshop Brings GSAR Members Together
In MArch , 31 GSAR members from Coast to Coast to Coast gathered in Toronto, ON, for SARVAC’s first-ever Mission Incident Support Team (MIST) Workshop!
This workshop is designed to provide advanced incident management training, enabling participants to take on command and general staff roles within the MIST for future SARVAC HWF deployments. The training came just in time for that year’s flood and fire season, strengthening SARVAC’s ability to respond to the growing number of hazards impacting communities across Canada.
As we wrapped up the final day of the workshop, we had covered a wide range of topics, including:
SARVAC HWF governance and operational overview
Emergency management in Canada
Information flow and dissemination
Responsibilities and risk assessment
Operational planning and technology
Participants also engaged in breakout sessions, solidifying their understanding of key concepts to enhance their ability to support disaster response efforts.
Together, we accumulated 598 years of GSAR experience. With this combination of training and expertise, we became an unstoppable force ready to respond to any challenge.
A huge thank you to all participants! We looked forward to working with you in future responses.
Want to learn more about SARVAC’s HWF program?
Visit http://www.sarvachwf.ca!
Thank you, to all the volunteers who volunteered as members of Brandon Regional Search and Rescue.
From Conducting Searches, providing education to the community through ADVENTURE SMART presentations, providing First Aid to community events and continuing to train to be able to provide our expertise when required , you have made a difference to our community. in 2024 alone members have contributed 5096 hours of volunteer work to the Westman Region of Manitoba. In addition they have contributed 831 hours of their time in active searches for lost individuals in Manitoba.
If you wish to be a member of the team and assist your community, please submit an application.
The team had the opportunity to train and practice our field skills on 27 April. Bruce Bumstead, our training officer , designed a course in the Brandon Hills where we had to navigate to a start point for a search using only map and compass to improve these skills. We were broken into two teams ( A and B)a nd commenced to our individual start points
Once in the proper location, we then commenced a search for clues that Bruce had placed previously.
Team B started in the North-West corner of the Search area and Team A started at the South West Corner of the search area.
Both teams had to practice Navigation, in maintaining East to West patterns to ensure coverage, while also ensuring that we maintained proper spacing to cover the required area. While searching, we had to observe the area in front, above and behind as we walked.
On completion of the exercise, Bruce was able to plot, using our GPS tracks, the area covered to confirm what areas were covered and areas that might have been missed. This ensures that we cover the required area . The outside members on each team had the GPSs, so the area in between was covered by the remainder of the Teams.
Once again thanks to Bruce for setting up the training and to all the members who were available to take the training.
Reminder to all Search and Rescue Responders that in order to support our communities, we have to be prepared ourselves, so that we can deploy while minimizing the worry about our family in the event of an emergency.
Brandon Regional Search and Rescue Association 