Yeah, that's what I was thinking about. It seemed like a waste to have valuable SAR resources tied up with too many additional tasks, training requirements, etc. unless your team was already composed of police officers. I don't recall ever working with a police department-based SAR team, so I was just curious and being nosey. My brother worked for a combined PD/FD and there aren't too many of those around, either.

I really admire you SAR folks, so often going out in the worst terrain and weather at the drop of a hat to help others, usually as unpaid volunteers.

I've been around the USAR (Urban Search and Rescue, e.g., earthquake-collapsed structures) folks some. I'm thinking of maybe getting into a SAR dog program when I retire from being a paramedic/firefighter.