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Halifax Search and Rescue practice ‘Project Lifesaver’

A member of Halifax Search and rescue holds up a receiver, which allows volunteers to locate vulnerable people. Natasha Pace/Global News

Members of Halifax Search and Rescue (SAR) spent Saturday participating in a training exercise for Project Lifesaver.

“Project Lifesaver is a wrist mounted transceiver that is worn by vulnerable people that have a risk of running or taking off,” said Paul Service, communications officer with Halifax SAR.

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The idea is that a vulnerable individual, like a child with autism, would wear the wristband. If they took off or went missing, search and rescue officials are able to use a receiver to pinpoint their location.

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“It’s highly reliable,” Service said.

“The biggest component of this is time saving. When we know someone that’s at risk, we can go for them.”

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Since first being introduced in Nova Scotia in 2009, Service says the longest search that Halifax Search and Rescue has had for individual wearing a wrist mounted transceiver was 17 minutes.

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