You could be one of the coastguard’s rescuers
From searching for a missing person to recording the details of washed-up mammals
If you are unlucky enough to be involved in an emergency situation on the coastline, the chances are that you will be rescued by a volunteer.
And you could be one of those rescuers operating here in Sunderland, due to the fact that more volunteers are currently needed to help fill a gap within the life-saving service.
Around the coast, when an incident occurs and someone dials 999 or calls Mayday on the radio, Britain’s real fourth emergency service springs into action.
The call will be dealt with by one of the fulltime manned Coastguard Rescue Operations Centres which will then page local coastguard teams, the RNLI or independent lifeboat services located around the coast.
The majority of these people are all highly trained volunteers, prepared to drop everything as soon as their pagers go to respond to a call for help.
Despite popular beliefs and advertising campaigns by a certain roadside recovery service, HM Coastguard is Britain’s fourth emergency service, responsible for all maritime and coastal rescues, and all helicopter search and rescue services since the closing of the RAF and Royal Navy SAR service.
Today’s coastguard rescue officers are highly trained individuals – and all 3,500 of them are volunteers.
Coastguard Rescue Operations Centres are manned by full-time staff.
There are also full-time area commanders and operations officers, but the men and women at the sharp end of incidents are all volunteers.
The service is currently short of volunteers all along the North East coast, from Berwick in the north, down the coast to Yorkshire in the south, and they are looking for suitable candidates ready to start training in October.
Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) perform a wide ranging role, from searching for missing persons to recording details of mammals washed up on the beach for the Natural History Museum.
There is no typical job and all CROs are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Of course, as a volunteer you are not expected to give up your holidays and not live a normal life – your role fits in around you.
Volunteers from all walks of life fill the rolls, from factory workers to tyre fitters, health service
workers to housewives.
Ideally candidates should be aged between 18 and 50, in good health, and live and work within 20 minutes of their local coastguard station.
A willingness to commit to training at least one night a week and to other occasionally longer training sessions away from home are also necessary.
A willingness from employers to allow people to answer calls would also be an advantage but it is not a necessity.
All CROs are trained in a multitude of skills including, search techniques, map reading, first aid, water and flood rescue, rope rescue, ordnance and pyrotechnic identification and mud rescue(in certain stations).
So if you fancy going over the edge of a cliff, above the water’s edge to rescue Fido, the dog who fell and is trapped on a ledge whilst chasing his favourite ball, or searching for missing Suzie, who has lost her parents on a crowded holiday beach, then why not get in touch!
For an informal chat about the service, you can simply E mail, Area5@ mcga.gov.uk