EBikes will allow quicker, more efficient operations
Central Okanagan Search and Rescue has become the first organization of its kind in Canada to have an E-Bike team.
A grant from the BC Search and Rescue Association allowed COSAR to acquire seven electric motor powered bikes, or E-Bikes, from Cyclepath Kelowna.
COSAR President Dan Schlosser says the bikes have already proven effective in the region.
“We were looking for an injured female who had hurt her ankle,” says Schlosser. “We couldn’t get the ATV’s into the trail, and the E-Bikes made it there in short order. We stabilized the subject, brought a helicopter in, and airlifted her out. It just worked out so well.”
E-Bikes were used in a total of four search and rescue operations in the area this spring, including a five-day search for a senior in West Kelowna.
Schlosser says the bikes eliminate some of the problems caused by the more often used ATV's.
“Imagine being on an ATV, and you’ve got the motor running, and you can’t hear people call people for help,” says Schlosser. “On a bike, you can actually hear people calling back and the noises around you.”
The motors on the E-Bikes also make climbing hills much easier, so that riders don’t have to catch their breath mid-rescue.
