I cannot address how other areas of the country view SAR, but here (in Maryland) SAR is a law enforcement endeavor. It is viewed as a law enforcement (LE) function due to the potentiality of criminal involvement. Usually, either the Maryland State Police, the local police agency (in Frederick it is the Sheriff's Department) or if at one of the state or federal parks, a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or United States Park Service (USPS) Ranger assumes the lead role.

Depending upon the nature of the call, they (LE) generally requests the local fire department(s)/technical rescue team and local, regional or state SAR groups. The request for assistance is considered an extension of formal or informal agreements between the police agency(s) and these other entities. It is true, that our law enforcement agencies, fire department and tech rescue team receive tax dollars, but in the case of the fire department and tech rescue team, we do a lot of fund raising and/or purchase our own gear. I believe the direct costs of rescue should never be passed along to those you we serve, for whatever reason they need our assistance.

You may or may not agree that the following illustration is a fair analogy for the situation we are discussing. I feel it does.

There has been much discussion placed upon the knowledge, skills, equipment/supplies and decision making of the individual(s) in determining blame and/or responsibility (including financial) of those who are a situation requiring assistance/rescue. Let’s say we have a hypothetical situation where a wife is being physically and mentally abused by the husband. The situation has gone on for some time and she has had opportunities to leave, but she is emotionally and financially unprepared to leave. The situation, one day escalates into a hostage situation, in which police are called, resulting in dozens of police officers, maybe even fire/EMS to resolve the situation. The police manage to subdue and take the husband into custody; she requires EMS and a trip to the hospital to treat her for injuries suffered during the situation (she has no insurance). Should she be fined or charged for the response of the police and fire/EMS? She had plenty of opportunities to prepare herself to leave, but the personal decisions she made, kept her with her abusive husband. I would think most of us would agree it would be ridiculous to fine her or charge her for being rescued. So why do we hold/expect others who may not have the same level of passion as we do, to be prepared or to always make the right decision in the “wild” to a higher level?

Yes, personal responsibility is essential, but so is compassion and understanding. In my humble opinion, unless someone is deliberately being reckless or intentionally breaking the law, we as a society have an obligation to assist/rescue those in need, without fining or charging them for our service.

I speak only for myself, but feel I have some small measure of right to hold these opinions. I have been involved with technical rescue for almost 20 years; have spent thousands of hours in classes and training, spent thousands of my own (and family’s) dollars to purchase equipment and have responded to hundreds of calls. I have laid my life on the line more than once to save someone, regardless of why they are in the situation they are in. From the bottom of my heart, I do not do these things because I want praise, thanks or compensation.

Just my 2 cents-
Pete