History

Since 1985 VASARCO volunteer search and rescue groups have worked hand-in-hand with VDEM to find, rescue or recover thousands of individuals throughout the Commonwealth. In 2019 alone, COVSAR volunteers provided over $2.1M of their own time and services to Virginia search and rescue efforts (based on IRS and Bureau of Labor and Statistics measurements). This does not include the countless dollars spent on purchasing personal and group equipment, travel expenses, training, etc.

COVSAR

COVSAR (Commonwealth of Virginia Search and Rescue) is the triad of services that enables a strong search and rescue (SAR) environment within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The foundation for this community of services is the twenty-one volunteer search and rescue (SAR) teams with memorandums of understanding with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) to provide search and rescue services.

Through the direction of VDEM and the cooperation of the Virginia Search and Rescue Council (VASARCO), COVSAR allows  us to respond and operate under a common set of operating procedures. Unique to Virginia, this unity of command and training allows volunteers to respond and operate alongside law enforcement and public safety agencies, regardless of location or jurisdiction. 

Member Groups

The foundation of the Commonwealth of Virginia Search and Rescue (COVSAR) is the 21, all volunteer, search and rescue groups with Memorandums of Understandings (MOU) with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), to provide search and rescue rescue services to the citizens of Virginia. 

We welcome you to visit our Group members websites below in order to better understand and support their services through donations or by becoming a member: