Track 15 · Ground Support · unpaid volunteer auxiliary · New York

Volunteer Search and Rescue in New York.

Who holds SAR authority here, the callouts open right now, the agencies that post them, and the free courses that get you onto a roster.

Join as a volunteer The Ground Support track Agencies: post a callout free

0verified volunteers on the network

0volunteer seats open right now

0volunteer seats filled, last 90 days

0agencies posting callouts

Who you join

SAR authority in New York

NYS DEC Forest Rangers lead wilderness SAR; volunteer teams affiliate through the NY State Federation of SAR Teams.

General information, not legal advice — the agency's own membership rules govern. All states →

Live

Open volunteer callouts in New York 0

No volunteer or SAR callouts are broadcasting in New York right now. Verified volunteers are paged by text the moment one goes out — join and keep your availability on.

Who posts

Agencies and teams active in New York 0

No agency with a public profile has posted a volunteer callout in New York yet. Agencies: verify once and post for free.

How to join

Four steps to your first callout

Sign up on Track 15. Create your operator account — a callsign, not your name, is what the network shows.
Take the free courses. FEMA IS-100 and IS-700 online (about six hours), plus an Adult CPR / AED and First Aid card. Upload the certificates to your vault; they verify against the issuer where the issuer allows it, otherwise a person on the desk checks them.
Affiliate with an agency. NYS DEC Forest Rangers lead wilderness SAR; volunteer teams affiliate through the NY State Federation of SAR Teams. The agency runs the background check; mark Ground Support verified on your profile once it clears.
Keep your availability on. Callouts arrive by text with a one-second hold-to-accept. The reporting location is released when you accept; your muster badge and the 214 live in the app.

What to bring

The Ground Support pack

Government photo ID and a current background check (the agency runs it — bring the paperwork they ask for)
FEMA IS-100 and IS-700 completion certificates (free, online, about six hours together)
Adult CPR / AED and First Aid card (AHA or Red Cross)
Boots, layered clothing for 24 hours, 2 L of water, a headlamp with spare batteries, a whistle, gloves, a small first-aid kit
A charged phone with the READYFORDUTY.NET™ app installed and location on — your muster badge and the callout texts live there
Nothing else: no weapons, no drones, no dogs unless you are a certified K9 team on the roster

The pack attestation on your profile is a self-declaration the agency can rely on at muster; it is not a certification.

Credentials that count

Ground Support credentials in the catalogue

County Sheriff SAR Volunteer / Posse AcademyBasic search academy or volunteer unit membership under the county sheriff, who holds the statutory mandate for inland SAR in most states; background check plus ICS-100 / IS-700.CERT — Community Emergency Response Team (FEMA / Citizen Corps)Basic disaster response, light search and rescue, and staging-area management; the organized non-technical volunteer force local law enforcement calls for large missing-person searches.Civil Air Patrol GES — General Emergency Services (Ground Team)Entry qualification for CAP ground search teams: ground sweeps, radio direction finding, and base-camp operations as the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.NASAR SARTECH IIINon-wilderness / community search operational level.NASAR FUNSAR — Fundamentals of Search and RescueNASAR's entry course: search theory, navigation, clue awareness, and survival skills; the classroom half of SARTECH II.ICS-100Introduction to the Incident Command System.ICS-700National Incident Management System (NIMS) an Introduction.ICS-200Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents.Adult CPR/AED & First Aid (AHA / Red Cross)Lay-responder CPR, AED, and first-aid certification — the baseline medical requirement for entry-level SAR volunteer programs.WFA — Wilderness First AidEntry-level 16-hour wilderness first-aid course (NOLS, WMA, SOLO, Red Cross); patient assessment and improvised care where EMS is hours away.K9-SAR — Search and Rescue Dog Handler (Air-Scent / Trailing)Certified wilderness canine team — air-scent, trailing, or water — through NASAR, state SAR associations, or a recognized canine organization (non-FEMA).

Track 15 Ground Support is an unpaid volunteer auxiliary; paid seats (Tracks 1–14) follow Form I-9 employment-eligibility rules. 3-W is not a substitute for emergency services — in an emergency call 911.