Capabilities
What the team can bring when 911 dispatch activates us.
FCSAR is building toward a dependable county-level ground team. Capabilities grow with training, equipment, and membership — this page describes the intended operating picture, not a guarantee of every specialty on every call.
Ground search
- Hasty search of trails, roads, and likely travel routes
- Grid and efficient search of assigned segments
- Clue awareness and scene preservation
- Night operations with lighting discipline
- Land navigation with map, compass, and GPS
Rural and wilderness interface
- Ozark timber and ridge-and-hollow country
- Farm and pasture search
- Support around popular waterways and recreation areas
- Assistance after storms when people are unaccounted for
Incident support
- Field team leadership under agency command
- Radio communications and accountability
- Search documentation and debrief
- Evidence search when requested by the Sheriff’s Office
- Logistics: staging, water, markings, and volunteer management
Training standards we aim for
Arkansas SAR teams typically align with NASAR fundamentals and participate in ASARA (Arkansas Search and Rescue Association) education and statewide coordination. New members should expect:
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Search theory | Lost-person behavior, probability of area, clue types |
| Navigation | Terrain association, bearings, GPS tracks |
| Medical | Wilderness first aid / first responder baseline |
| Communications | Plain-language radio, ICS/NIMS familiarity |
| Safety | Heat, cold, ticks, night movement, helicopter LZ awareness |
Specialty disciplines (K9, swiftwater, technical rope, dive) require separate certification and are not assumed for every volunteer.