Background of Manitoba Ground Search & Rescue

Over the past 18 years, the Province of Manitoba Ground Search & Rescue Program has transformed from a virtually untrained group of volunteers, into a highly trained and dedicated Volunteer Search and Rescue Network across the Province.

In 1988 The Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) D – Division, formed a partnership with the vision of developing a Province wide volunteer Ground Search & Rescue network.  Both parties recognized the huge gap in the provincial response system.  The shared vision was that this network would initially be developed through the existing, and highly successful Provincial Mutual Aid System.

The responsibility for lost or missing persons in the Province of Manitoba rests with the Police Agency having jurisdiction.  Across the majority of rural Manitoba the RCMP are the Policing authority.  The memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was developed between the two agencies provided for the Office of the Fire Commissioner, through the Manitoba Emergency Services College to develop and deliver Ground Search and Rescue training to the volunteer network of Manitoba, and to coordinate the response of this network to support the RCMP either at the local level or on a wider Provincial basis. 

The Manitoba Volunteer SAR Network is available to support any Policing Authority tasked with this responsibility across Manitoba.  The OFC has worked closely with the City of Winnipeg Police Force and Parks Canada to develop their SAR capability, and are available to assist upon request.  

The initial GSAR - Basic Training was targeted towards the Manitoba Municipal Fire Service.  This group was already well trained, equipped and ready for response to various types of rescue incidents.  The teams were organized using the highly successful Provincial Mutual Aid System.  The volunteer network has since expanded beyond the Manitoba Fire Service, and is now represented by volunteers with very diverse back grounds, and therefore bringing a wide variety of skills to Search and Rescue.

The Manitoba Volunteer Search and Rescue Network has grown over the years to presently include twenty nine (29) highly trained and mobile volunteer teams from across the Province.  These teams are ready to respond and support local or provincial search efforts at a moments notice.  The Provincial Mutual Aid System continues to be frame work for this network.

Since 1993 over 1400 volunteers have been trained to the Ground Search & Rescue (GSAR) Basic level, with approximately 150 responders of those responders trained to the GSAR Team Leader level.  The strength and success of this network, has always been and will continue to be the volunteers who come to assist some one in need of help at a moments notice.

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