KALISPELL — For 75 years Flathead County Search and Rescue volunteers have been on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Their mission is to search for missing or injured people in Flathead County and the surrounding area, doing their best to rescue them and bring them home.
“It’s amazing, sometimes it’s hard to comprehend like what they are willing to give up in their personal lives to help others,” said Flathead County Search & Rescue Coordinator Darrin Wise.
Since 1950, volunteers with Flathead County Search and Rescue have answered the call for hundreds of search and rescue missions.
“Miss holidays or birthdays or whatever personal events that they are going away from to help somebody else,” added Wise.
Wise is a Deputy Sheriff for Flathead County and also serves as Search and Rescue Coordinator.
He said search and rescue is made up of 50 dedicated and dependable volunteers.
“They go through a basic search and rescue course, you know managing land search operations, CPR, you know first aid, all those critical core competencies they have to have before they are a full-time member for the agency,” said Wise.
Covering a vast region in all seasons, volunteers are ready to respond to any rescue mission, from swiftwater, technical rope to backcountry avalanches.
“When we have a group of members, you need all these different skill sets and people who can do double duty sometimes,” said Flathead County Search & Rescue President Anthony Palmiotti.
Palmiotti said volunteers are always ready to expect the unexpected.
“Just when you sit down and the phone dings and my wife looks at me and goes oh no not again, but yeah it’s somebody needs help and that could be 10 minutes, or it could be 10 days,” said Palmiotti.
Wise is thankful for 75 years of volunteers helping those in need in Flathead County.
“The two words thank you can’t sum it up, but my gosh it’s just amazing what people are willing to give and to do to help others.”
