There is always a challenge between having enough regulation to protect citizen “victims” and maintaining a supply of qualified responders. Throughout our decades of working with volunteer SAR responders, we are assured of their good intentions and their desire be come professional in their field.
With maintaining the balance of minimal government regulation, but creating a professional class of responders, we encourage our SAR colleagues to work with their State legislators to enact appropriate legislation. Of course, this will ensure that our citizens receive the SAR level of response they deserve and likely receive from Law Enforcement and Fire Service in their respective performance. This will also help protect SAR responders, their teams, and the agencies utilizing their services. A Statewide certification requirement, whether called certification or licensure, satisfies both.
Meanwhile, we encourage our responder colleagues, and those agencies responsible for SAR, look to national level organizations currently offering certifications based on scientific, best practices method standard from respected academic and and professional research groups. In the absence of legislative action, complying with these standards and testing criteria is the best way to demonstrate professional level of response and for agencies to counter any civil litigation. Checkout this article: