Our History

The Salmon Arm Rescue Unit was founded in August of 1963 as a private Ambulance Service for the Village of Salmon Arm.  It functioned by selling subscriptions to the residents of the Village until 1974 when the Provincial Government started the British Columbia Ambulance Service and took over all private services.
In 1976 it was decided to become a Rescue Unit after the donation of the first generation Hurst, 'Jaws of Life' from the Shuswap Quarter Milers.  The first Rescue and Extrication vehicle of its kind in this area was started.
Jump ahead to 1986 and again the Shuswap Quarter Milers donated a large gift of a new 1 Ton Cab and Chassis.  With the help of Jerry Thompson from Custom Space Design, we built a new equipment box for the new truck.
We retired the Hurst equipment in the early 1990's with the purchase of a complete set of AMKUS equipment.
The new truck lasted until 2000 when we fundraised for our current unit with more seating and a larger equipment box built by Valid Manufacturing.
Salmon Arm Rescue Unit was born out of necessity.  The Trans Canada Highway runs through the city and the motor vehicle accidents caused by the large volume of traffic made it necessary to have Rescue and Extrication trained personnel and equipment available.
The Rescue Truck is a specially designed unit that is able to access difficult terrain and carry our specialized equipment.  It is currently nearing the end of it's lifespan and we are starting a fundraising campaign to be able to purchase a new truck in the next few years.  Our goal is to raise $500,000 for this new truck and equipment box and get new updated extrication equipment.