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Who We Are - A Brief History

The Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad was founded November 15, 1950, in response to a Pan American Airways crash on Annette Island near Ketchikan Alaska. We were formed by the community members that pulled together to recover those that were lost in the crash. At the time of the accident there was no organized search and rescue capability other than the United Stated Coast Guard.

Today we operate under the direction of a 6-person board of directors.  We have no paid staff, and  have never charged for our services.  We are funded by public and private donations and utilize an all volunteer crew to provide search & rescue services to more than 5,000 sq. miles of southeast Alaska.  Our area of operations include hundreds of small islands, inlets and bays and has several thousand miles of uninhabited shoreline. We operate using an incident command structure that utilizes 5 operational units.

We are self dispatched and work closely with the Alaska State Troopers, United States Coast Guard, and the United States Forest Service. We are a participant  in our local community disaster plan and stand watch as part of the Emergency Radio Relay Net.  We operate 24 hr. radio watches on VHF marine channel 16, and are tasked with over 2,500 man-hours, in an average of 20 operations a year.

Mission Statement

The Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad shall operate as a non-profit all volunteer organization formed to conduct wilderness search, rescue and recovery missions in the southeast region of Alaska. As members we dedicate our efforts to the saving of lives and property and stand ready to respond to all those who live, work or simply pass through our community. Our services are always provided free of charge to all those in their time of need, a service only made possible through the donations and support of our community.

Vision Statement

As members of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad we share in the freedom and independence made possible by living in Southeast Alaska. We share a vision and are dedicated to providing a safe community and work place through innovative, well equipped, and well trained volunteer professionals. We take pride in our long history and those traditional values of friendship, teamwork and performance. The very foundation of our organization is based on the neighbor helping neighbor attitude that was so important to our founding members. We consider it an honor to be considered stewards of an organization that typifies the pioneering spirit around which Alaska was built.