Home Units Training EMS Funding Media Contacts Help

Requirements

There are a set of minimum requirements every member of KCSARA must adhere to in order to participate in mission activities.

Personal Training Records

Your personal training records are available here. Please periodically review this information and help us keep your records up-to-date.

Unit Training

Each of the member units within KCSARA establishes and holds their own training. Some of this unit training satisfies the minimum training required by KCSARA.

KCSARA Academy

Once or twice a year, KCSARA holds an academy which offers entry level classes and refreshers for the required courses, in addition to some educational electives.

Washington State SAR Conference

Once a year the Washington State Search and Rescue Conference is held. Hosted by different Washington counties, the conference rotates to a different county each year.

Mission Time

Some training requirements can be satisfied though participation in missions.

Third-party Courses

Some third-parties conduct training that satisfies the minimum training required by KCSARA.

Training Directors

Unit Training Directors and staff, this page is for you.

Required Training

Search and Rescue organizations have several layers of authority that impose training requirements on their membership. The following is a description of the training required above the level of the individual KCSARA unit. Approved unit training, or third-party offerings, might satisfy some of these requirements. Check with the Training Director of each unit for further information on additional required training.

Federal Requirements

On February 28, 2003, President Bush issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5. HSPD-5 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template to enable all government, private-sector, and non-governmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents.

Everyone with a direct role in emergency and incident management and response, including volunteers, must take NIMS and ICS training. The amount of training depends on the person's position level in response operation.

Washington State Requirements

These requirements are codified in Washington Administrative Code 118.04. The exact content, length, and refresher cycle has been interpreted through an agreement of King County Sheriff's Office, and the unit leaders of King County Search and Rescue Association.

King County Requirements

To ensure all emergency worker volunteers in King County are familiar with the legal requirements associated with their chosen avocation, King County requires all volunteers who joined after January 1st, 2004 to attend a one-time-only class.

Last updated on April 01, 2009.