Join Search and Rescue
Thank you for your interest in Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
The volunteer members of our team are selected from the community. We accept applications on a continual basis. When openings are available in the group, we interview from the applications on file. We typically conduct these interviews once a year, in January.
Requirements
To submit an application, you must:
- Be at least age 21 at time of application
- Have a current medical certification of at least First Responder (i.e., 50+ hours of EMS training)
- Be a US citizen
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- Have a Utah driver's license
- Be a resident of Salt Lake County
If you are accepted by the team, you will need to pass a Sheriff's Office background check. To pass this, you must not:
- Have been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment in a federal or state
penitentiary or of an offense involving dishonesty, unlawful sexual conduct, physical
violence, or the unlawful use, sale or possession of a controlled substance - Have been convicted of a D.U.I. within the previous four years beginning with the date of
conviction to the date of application
If your medical certification has lapsed, please complete the re-certification process before submitting an application to Search and Rescue. Courses are available from the American Red Cross, among others. Lapsed EMT's and others of higher medical training can often re-certify at the Emergency Response level by challenging the test. Contact the American Red Cross or other instruction agency to schedule a test.
Interest Form
To apply to join the group, you may pick up an interest form at our office or download an online interest form. Return this form and a copy of your current medical certification to:
SLCO Sheriff's Search and Rescue
3510 South 700 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
(801) 743-5656
FAX: (801) 743-5657
Interview
If your application meets the requirements listed above, you will be asked to interview with members of the group. We will contact you to schedule this at the next opportunity when openings are available in the group. We try to evaluate applicants on their relevant outdoor or rescue experience, their attitude and ability to work within this type of group, their interest level and their time availability. Experience in rescue, climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, whitewater, diving, or emergency medicine helps, but is not required. General outdoor interest, attitude, and good judgment are the most important qualities for rescue team members. Joining the group also involves a significant time commitment.
For more detail on this, see the bylaws page and the questions page. Unfortunately, many otherwise well qualified people do not have the time or the flexibility needed to respond to calls at unpredictable times. We understand that we are a volunteer group and that commitments to employers and family come first, but we do need to include time availability in our evaluation of an applicant.
Background Check
If you are selected in the interview process, you will be asked to fill out a comprehensive personal information package, which will be used by the Sheriff's Office to conduct the background check. Completing the background check for all applicants usually takes about a month.
Health Physical
Assuming there are no problems with the background check, you will be scheduled for a physical exam at the County Health Center. This is not a fitness test, just a medical exam to identify potential major health problems which would place a rescue team member at risk in the backcountry. This step also includes a screening for controlled substance abuse.
Probationary Membership
Again - assuming there are no major problems with the physical, you will join Search and Rescue as a probationary member. You will be issued a pager, radio, and other equipment and will participate in rescues. Your role in those rescues will obviously depend on your skills and experience. During this nine-month period, you will be expected to attend at least 66% of all meetings, training's, and rescues, and to pass our standard yearly physical fitness test. In addition, we teach a class for new members which covers the fundamentals of technical rock rescue and our standard rescue procedures and techniques. As you learn these skills, you can expect to begin taking roles with increasing responsibility during rescues.
Full Membership
At the end of the probationary period, your application to Search and Rescue is voted on by the general membership of the team. Typically some new members discover during the probationary period that their interests lie elsewhere, or that the time commitment is greater than they anticipated. Those who remain interested, have maintained the required attendance, and have passed our introductory rescue course and the fitness test are usually approved to become full members.
Thanks for your interest - hope to have you on the team.