Our Equipment

Butte County Search & Rescue has a wide variety of equipment available to respond to searches and rescues. The capabilities of this equipment reflect the various terrain and climate conditions the team may encounter. The majority of equipment is housed at our headquarters building in Chico. Click on any of the links below for a sampling of our equipment.

Rescue Three is a Ford F-550 diesel four wheel drive truck with a custom utility box created by QTAC in Chico. It serves as our primary rescue vehicle and carries technical rope and swiftwater rescue equipment, medical supplies, an underwater camera, dive gear, scene lighting, and a radio cache. It was purchased with grants from Direct Relief.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Rescue One — Rescue One is a 2017 Ford F350 diesel truck that is primarily used to transport people and tow equipment on missions and trainings. It carries a Stokes litter, rope rescue equipment, medical gear and supplies to support any mission we take it on.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Command Trailer — Our mobile command post is a 2017 TPD Special Ops trailer. It was custom designed and built for our team after a year long design process. The trailer is essentially a mobile office, allowing BCSAR members to manage a search in the field with the required office equipment. The trailer is used as a command post and communications hub, providing both shelter and technology to create search plans and assignments, print maps, track units in the field, and debrief search teams after a mission. The trailer includes a 7kW generator with 30 gallon gas storage, heating and air conditioning, a mapping server with WiFi connectivity, and a Keurig coffee machine.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Support 1 — Support 1 is a Ford Expedition who’s name says it all: It supports all SAR functions by transporting people, equipment, and towing trailers. It is equipped with limited rope rescue equipment and medical gear.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - H1 — A military OH-58 Helicopter, “H1” is the Sheriff’s primary helicopter and provides aerial searches and technical rescues with our Helicopter Rescue Technicians. H1 is most known for performing short haul rescues, where a rescue technician is inserted into a location with a 150 foot rope attached to the helicopter.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Swiftwater Rescue Team — Our team has several inflatable boats, including a 14 foot Achilles RIB with outboard motor, and an NRS 12′ inflatable raft. These inflatable boats allows Search & Rescue crews to travel in shallow water including streams, creeks, and flood conditions, and also provide a stable working platform for water K9’s.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Personal Watercraft — BCSAR operates two personal watercraft, or PWC’s, that allow quick response to a potential drowning or water rescue calls. These are also used to patrol the Sacramento River during Labor Day weekend. Each watercraft is capable of transporting a driver, rescuer, and victim in both static and dynamic water.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Polaris Rangers — The team has two Polaris Ranger UTV’s. One Ranger is equipped with tracks during the winter for travel in the snow. Each Ranger can carry up to three passengers in front, and assorted gear and equipment in the rear. There are special attachment points for carrying a Stokes litter in the bed of the vehicle for patient transport, if needed. Assorted equipment includes a winch, LED lighting, VHF Radio, and a chainsaw.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Snowcat — BCSAR members spent several weekends customizing it to fit our needs. This included installing public safety radios, attachments to carry a Stokes litter, and affixing our logo. Transfer Flow of Chico custom designed a fuel storage system providing 2-30 gallon saddle tanks and transfer system. The Snocat carries emergency food, first-aid, and survival gear necessary for rescuers and victims to spend the night in a snowstorm. Specifics: Tucker 1643 DRE, 7 Passenger Cab, Cummins Diesel 6-BTA 177 H.P. Engine, Allison AT-545 Automatic Transmission, Transfer Flow custom 60 Gallon Diesel storage

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Snowmobiles — Search & Rescue uses snowmobiles as a quick response to winter searches in higher elevations. BCSAR also helps patrol and respond to calls at the Jonesville Snowmobile Park, a starting point for a 40 mile loop of groomed trails connecting Butte Meadows to Lake Almanor and back. Snowmobiles allow hasty trail searches and rapid deployment of BLS medical care. Each snowmobile trailer carries a rescue sled, allowing stable transport of a victim while providing medical care.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Argo Avenger — Able to travel in adverse conditions, our Argo Avenger EFI transports our team to the far reaches of Butte County during the winter. An 8-wheel drive, all-terrain tracked vehicle, the Argo is able to carry up to 6 passengers. It is our first response vehicle in extreme winter conditions with excellent capabilities in deep powder snow. On-board equipment includes BLS Medical, food and survival gear, VHF Radio, Winch, Chain Saw and LED lighting.

Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue - Communications and Technology — might have the best people, if those people are not able to communicate, the mission can easily be lost. Our team has an extensive VHF repeater system on 5 mountain top locations throughout the county. These repeaters allow SAR teams to communicate with each other, with Search Base, our dispatch, and allied agencies. These repeaters ensure that our teams have constant, safe, and reliable communications no matter where the mission may take them.

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