St Louis County Volunteer Rescue Squad Inc

The St. Louis County Rescue Squad is a 501c3 volunteer organization that responds to calls involving wilderness search and rescue; boat and water safety; first aid; and public safety.

Volunteer Rescue Squad Members are trained in specialized skills. These are tasks which require training above and beyond the basic search and rescue skills such as first aid, cross country navigation, wilderness survival, emergency driving, and small boat handling.

In 2022 alone our 95 volunteer members gave 33,757 hours of their serving the community. In the woods, we responded on 146 operations including 76 searches (71 for people, 5 for evidence), 65 rescues (of which 34 were ATV or snowmobile accidents), 4 rope rescue operations, and 1 aircraft crash.

On the water, we rolled on 73 missions...a lower-than-average number, which is good. We assisted in 4 water fatality recoveries, but also recorded 25 "saves" where we made a critical difference in the survival or severe hardship of others. We average 7.6 water fatality recoveries since the Rescue Squad was founded in 1958 (there were 13 last year). Incidentally, of the 486 water fatalities we've worked over the Rescue Squad's history, only 14 were wearing life jackets. PLEASE wear your PFD!

On the road, we rolled on 147 motor vehicle accidents, performed 8 heavy extrications, and led 9 helicopter landing zones. Together with 57 medicals and 77 deputy and fire assists, we ran exactly 500 total missions, the second highest in our 64-year history and the seventh year in a row above 400. In the public outreach area, squad members gave 69 public safety talks and made 71 displays.