The Haines Volunteer Fire Department is adding a search and rescue unit to its ranks, with bylaws set for adoption at their June 10 meeting.

“We’re forming because we see that there’s an absolute need for it,” fire chief Al Giddings said last week.

There have been several search and rescue formation attempts in Haines in past years, but the groups were not sustained.

In 2018, there were seven documented search and rescue call-outs, where Alaska State Troopers recruited volunteer firefighters to help find missing persons, Giddings said. All were found alive and unharmed.

A team of an expected 10 core volunteers will work under state troopers, who will receive the initial call and involve the search and rescue unit, Giddings said.

Zach Tarleton, who has served as an EMT on the department since 2011, will serve as the captain in charge of facilitating training, Giddings said.

The group will be self-funded from the fire department with a $5,000 budget to purchase vests, gloves, eye protection and helmets.

Giddings said the group will also utilize resources in town, such as snowmachines for winter rescues.

Another valuable asset to the team is Hera, the six-year-old German Shepherd who trained for six years in search and rescue through SEADOGS, a K-9 Search and rescue volunteer group based in Juneau.

Hera and her owner, Joe Oesterling, assisted on the more than 30-person search for lost blueberry picker, Valentino Burratin, last summer.

“Although they weren’t the asset that found the person, it allowed us to say ‘hey we’ve really covered this area and need to expand our searches,’” Tarleton said. “Having a k-9 is an extremely effective tactic.”

Though Hera is a member of the SEADOGS, Oesterling said their priority will be to Haines after she recuperates from knee surgery in about three months.

The bylaws will have to be signed by borough manager Debra Schnabel, who at press time had not yet received them. She said she is “conceptually favorable towards the idea.”

Interested volunteers should contact the fire department at 766-2115.