APEX NC CERT
& CNCSAR
CNCSAR
Central North Carolina Search and Rescue (CNCSAR) is a specialized subset of Apex CERT, whose members are North Carolina-certified search and rescue professional volunteers.
- WHO WE ARE |
- HOW WE'RE ORGANIZED
- | JOIN US!
Who We Are
The mission of Search and Rescue (SAR) teams is to locate and return lost,
missing, or endangered persons to safety. Five (5) SAR disciplines are
deployed by North Carolina Emergency Management:
Urban (USAR) / Confined Space
Swiftwater SAR
NCHART (Helo-Aquatic Rescue)
Mountain / High-Angle SAR
Wilderness SAR
CNCSAR is a wilderness SAR team. “Wilderness” is generally defined as more than an hour from civilizatin or immediate assistance. Wilderness SAR teams must be able to operate in all terrain, seasons, weather conditions, day or night. Specialized training and skills of SAR teams include:
Advanced land navigation (day & night)
Tracking & sign cutting
Operating with K9 and drone assets
Clue awareness
Lost person behavior and psychology
Wilderness first aid
Emergency / backcountry survival
Technical rescue (ropes / knots / litters)
Rapid establishment of ICS command structure
Maintain communications in remote areas
Wildlife awareness
Weather awareness
How We're Organized
CNCSAR’s parent organization is Apex CERT. We are a specialty sub-team of normal folks with a wide variety of “day jobs” in energy, medicine, education, IT, emergency response, emergency management, and more. We all have a commn interest in areas relating to the outdoors (camping / hiking), wildlife (fishing / birding), veterinary / equestrian, backcountry exploration, and survival. As a team, we meet at least once a month, train regularly, and deploy when requested by NC Emergecy Management (NCEM) or local law enforcement.
There are three membership types on the team: General Member, Active Member, and CNCSAR Responder. The different levels are obtained by time on the team, training, and certifications.
In order to become a CNCSAR Responder, individuals must complete the NCEM class, NC-8100: Land Search Field Team Member, or the equivalent of NASAR’s SARTECH II training. The is a ~60-hour training in the classroom and the field, and includes skills assessments, a written test, and a mock search.
