High interest in search and rescue in Calgary

Dozens of people who want to help with Calgary-area search and rescue gathered for a recruitment session Monday night.

The Calgary Search and Rescue Association (CALSARA) held a meeting and 125 people signed up, but only 30 to 35 were selected.

The organization is looking for volunteers who want to help the community and can make a significant time commitment that includes administrative work, training and community events.

KALSARA's primary purpose is to search for missing persons, but it also helps police find and track evidence and participate in civilian emergency response training.

“It's been great since I joined,” said Chad Young, vice president of KALSARA.

“The learning opportunities we get, the interaction with the community is amazing and you get to experience and do unique things that most Canadians don't get to see.”

Last year, KALSARA members were deployed to Grande Prairie to help fight wildfires, and crews helped communities affected by the 2013 flood.