Other Agencies
- Salvation Army
- Canadian Red Cross
- St. John Ambulance Canada
- Canadian Lifeboat Institution - Steveston BC
- Roberts Bank Lifeboat - Delta BC
- Emergency Social Services Association
The following is a list of emergency organizations operating in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy and the transit police, while in certain countries they have similarities to both.
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs ; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.
His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the UK Maritime Search and Rescue Region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate resources to respond to persons either in distress at sea, or to persons at risk of injury or death on the cliffs or shoreline of the United Kingdom. It is also responsible for land based search and rescue helicopter operations from 2015.
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and icebreaking, marine pollution response, and support for other Canadian government initiatives. The Coast Guard operates 119 vessels of varying sizes and 23 helicopters, along with a variety of smaller craft. The CCG is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a special operating agency within Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Responsibilities for traditional coast guard duties in Australia are distributed across various federal, state and community agencies. The de facto coast guard of Australia is the Maritime Border Command, a joint command of the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Border Force which works alongside the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Each state and territory government have specific maritime safety agencies and police marine units. In addition, there are several private volunteer coast guard organisations which act as auxiliary search and rescue services and maritime safety educators with the largest organisations being the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol established in 1937, the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard established in 1961, and Marine Rescue New South Wales established in 2009.
Public Safety Canada, legally incorporated as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEPC), is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for (most) matters of public safety, emergency management, national security, and emergency preparedness in Canada.
As the United States' inland search and rescue (SAR) coordinator, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) serves as the single agency responsible for coordinating on-land federal SAR activities in the United States, including Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary is a Canada-wide volunteer marine association dedicated to marine search and rescue (SAR) and the promotion of boating safety, through association with the Canadian Coast Guard under the auspices of Canada's National Search and Rescue Program.
The National Search and Rescue Program (NSP) is the name given by the Government of Canada to the collective search and rescue (SAR) activities in Canada. Until 2015, the NSP was administered by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS).
The British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) is an ambulance service that provides emergency medical response for the province of British Columbia, Canada. BCAS is one of the largest providers of emergency medical services in North America. The fleet consists of more than 500 ground ambulances operating from 183 stations across the province along with 80 support vehicles. Additionally, BCAS provides inter-facility patient transfer services in circumstances where a patient needs to be moved between health care facilities for treatment. BCAS also operates a medical evacuation program that utilizes both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.
The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR), formerly Emergency Management BC (EMBC), is a provincial government department in the Canadian province of British Columbia. EMCR works with local governments and other provincial and federal agencies year round, providing coordination and support before, during and after emergencies. EMCR is administered under the Emergency Program Act.
Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) is a publicly funded health service provider in the province of British Columbia. PHSA is unique in Canada as the only health authority having a province-wide mandate for specialized health services, although within British Columbia the First Nations Health Authority is also non-regional and highly dispersed. The five other health authorities in the province have regional jurisdiction. Services are provided either directly through PHSA agencies or through funding or collaboration with regional health authorities.
Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) is a public, post-secondary educational institution in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, that is focused on training professionals in the justice, public safety and social services fields. JIBC also has campuses in Victoria, Kelowna, Chilliwack, Pitt Meadows, and Maple Ridge.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria (JRCC Victoria) is a rescue coordination centre operated by the 1 Canadian Air Division (Canadian Armed Forces) and staffed by personnel of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Southern Norway or JRCC SN is a rescue coordination center located in Sola which is responsible for coordinating major search and rescue (SAR) operations in Norway south of the 65th parallel north. Established in 1970, it is a government agency subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and led by the Chief of Police of Rogaland Police District. The agency has twenty-three employees and has at least two rescue controllers at work at any time.
Canadian Armed Forces Search and Rescue is the collective name used to refer to search and rescue (SAR) resources and operations within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) are jointly responsible for Canada’s SAR operations.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax is a rescue coordination centre operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton is a rescue coordination centre operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) is a volunteer marine rescue service that saves lives and promotes public recreational boating safety throughout the coastal and some inland waters of the province of British Columbia and is associated with the national organization of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.
