February 5, 2021 | Vol. 2 Iss. 06
$1.50
VOLUNTEERS PUT LIFE ON THE LINE TO RESCUE OTHERS Search and Rescue team trains to be ready at a moment’s notice By Becky Ginos becky.g@davisjournal.com FARMINGTON—For members of the Davis County Sheriff Search and Rescue (DCSSR) team getting a call out in the middle of the night to bring someone to safety is what they train for. They’re all volunteers who put in hours and hours to be ready for anything. “We all have a different profession,” said Commander Brent Jensen. “I do heating and air, we’ve had a veterinarian, someone who works for the (National) Guard, a nurse, doctors, construction workers. We have two firefighters training with us right now.” Search and rescue is a branch of the Davis County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Kelly Sparks. “We purchase our personal equipment but the trucks, snow mobiles, etc. are purchased by the county.” Jensen said he was drawn to DCSSR after an incident while vacationing in the Tetons. “We were in the backcountry and a hiker fell 200 feet to his death. I watched a helicopter hoist him out. I’m an EMT and I love the mountains and rock climbing so I thought it was a good fit.” The team averages 45 calls a year, he said. “We’re really busy in the summer. We get calls almost once a week, sometimes two to three times a week. A couple of times there will be two to three calls a day.” The first rescue he went on was when an airman Please see VOLUNTEERS: pg. 4
FIRST VICE COMMANDER, DOUG SHIPLEY (LEFT) helps Willie Berndt as he struggles to get into his dive gear during a Davis County Sheriff Search and Rescue training. Photo by Roger V. Tuttle