New State of the Art Vehicle to Help Search for Missing People
A brand new vehicle that will Avon & Somerset Search and Rescue becomes operational on 1st November. The new Incident Control vehicle is fitted with state of the art technology to help find missing people.
Adrian Payne, ASSAR Vehicle Officer said, ‘This new Incident Control vehicle takes us to the cutting edge of being able to help people far from help. We have to be able to plan and coordinate search and rescue operations from a wide variety of locations. Typically we get called out to remote places in the middle of the night and have to be able to operate with no or limited support. It’s been a huge fundraising effort from everyone and lots of time fitting the kit from fellow team members but we know this will help us become even more effective.’
Avon & Somerset Search and Rescue (ASSAR) are the police’s chosen search and rescue resource in Avon and Somerset. Staffed by volunteers they are on call 24/7 365 days a year, whatever the weather or time of day. They get called out around 35 times a year to find missing high-risk and vulnerable people. They have been involved with high profile cases such as Charlotte Bevan and Joanna Yeates in Avon Gorge along with many incidents in Cheddar Gorge and across the area.
The vehicle is a long wheel base VW Crafter. It has been fitted with the latest technology by specialists within ASSAR. To help plan searches and coordinate rescues the operational control area has;
- A server, Local Area Network and wi-fi connectivity
- Two docking stations and 24” monitors for Toughbook laptops loaded with computer mapping and software for administering a search
- Three of the latest digital radios and a wide range of charging points
- Planning area for collaboration with other emergency services
- Welfare facilities to cater for ASSARs search specialists
- A second bulkhead fitted to contain a caged unit for ASSARs search kit and stretchers
The trustees of ASSAR would like to thanks all the team members who helped fundraise for the vehicle over the last few years and the community of Avon & Somerset who have been so generous. We would also like to thank Pearce Bros and Eurosigns for their kind support.
