Cal-ESAR Training Program

California Explorer Search and Rescue (Cal-ESAR)
 is a wilderness and urban Search and Rescue (SAR) team founded to respond to searches and other emergencies throughout the State of California. Cal-ESAR consists of approximately 100 individuals (85 adults and 15 young adults (16-21) who volunteer their services and time to the citizens of California. Cal-ESAR supports scouting as a 
BSA Explorer Post, which was originally chartered in 1969.

Cal-ESAR is a mutual aid resource and deployed at the request of the California State Office of Emergency Services.  We respond where needed throughout Northern California and are prepared to be deployed and self supported for 72 hours.  We are are also available to provide training wherever needed throughout the state upon request.

www.cal-esar.org
The Cal-ESAR training program is designed to provide members with a means of improving their skills and level of confidence and response. All co
urses are taught by Cal-ESAR trainers, along with assistance from personnel from other agencies. The full ESAR Basic Training Course is approximately 180 hours, and is designed to provide someone with no prior experience all the training needed to become a competent field-ready ground searcher. You can get an overview of the training course content by attending an Information and Introduction Night.

Successful completion of the first 4 modules of this program are designed to serve as an introduction to Search & Rescue, and to give the trainee the basic skills needed for a limited-scope Bay Area-type search. 

For more information on the program, follow the links for the courses described below, or contact us.


Cal-ESAR Training Schedule


Training Schedule 2018-19

Candidate Orientation- September 29
Outdoor Skills Training- October 13-14
First Aid and CPR - December 8-9
Winter Travel and Survival - February TBD (Optional)
SAR Skills Evaluation - April 13-14
Yosemite PSAR- May TBD

In addition, team members are expected to complete the following online course prior to SAR skills in January:

ICS 100a: Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS)

Intro Night 2017


Other Resources

There are many other materials available to you from various external sites, you can get to them below or via the External Links option on the Navigation Bar. Because they are external links, we can not guarantee content.  If you have issues with any of these links, contact us.

External Links

  • Poison Oak: Collected References What does Poison Oak look like?PhotographsMore Photographs
    Posted Sep 18, 2013, 9:44 PM by Ken Buscho
  • Ticks: Collected articles Each year there is discussion about ticks. Here are some websites that describe ticks, lyme disease, prevention and treatment. Like lots of other things, an ounceof prevention is worth a pound of cure. When properly prepared and informed, we needn't be overly concerned about ticks. Here are the websites:How to Avoid Ticks When HikingHow do I identify different ticks?"Why this year's tick season will be really bad", TODAY Health, April 13 2012
    Posted Sep 18, 2013, 9:46 PM by Ken Buscho
  • Be Safe Outdoors The San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Department has an excellent guide to help you be safe while hiking and camping.  You can find the link here. It covers plants, critters and other things that might impact you.
    Posted Sep 4, 2009, 12:15 PM by Ken Buscho
  • Ready.Gov http://www.ready.gov is run by FEMA.  It is set up to help businesses and private citizens prepare for the Big One.Keywords:  FEMA, Disaster Preperation
    Posted Sep 18, 2013, 9:41 PM by Ken Buscho
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