At Travall we’re all about helping you to equip your vehicle with top quality car accessories that enable you to get out and enjoy adventures while making your daily life easier. Whether you have a dog that needs to be in a secure position for travelling, or whether you’re into camping and want to stack your gear securely in the boot, Travall’s got what you need. Travall products are not just for family life and many professional organisations highly value our vehicle-specific car accessories too. When Chris Gowrie, the equipment officer for Bucks Search and Rescue specifically requested Travall products to equip one of the team vehicles, we jumped at the opportunity to support him and his team.
What does Bucks Search and Rescue do?
Bucks Search and Rescue (BSAR) is headquartered in Gerrards Cross and is made up exclusively of volunteers. Affiliated with the national body “Lowland Rescue” they provide search and rescue assets throughout Buckinghamshire and surrounding area. If you’re not familiar with the work of Lowland Rescue teams, here’s a brief summary. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) takes care of finding people on the coasts. Mountain Rescue takes care of finding people in the hills and mountains. Lowland Search and Rescue, consisting of 35 teams in various counties has the mammoth task of taking care of any terrain in between the mountains and sea. This can be in towns, out in the countryside, in woodland or around rivers and canals. BSAR’s main focus is assisting Thames Valley Police in locating high risk and vulnerable missing persons and giving medical aid where needed, working closely with other emergency services. They also provide assistance to the county council for resilience operations during times of adverse weather such as flooding and heavy snowfall.
The searches that the team carry out are mainly done on foot but can also encompass the use of mountain bikes and boats depending on the terrain that they need to tackle. Their vehicles are also heavily used for tasks such as getting equipment to where it is needed and for casualty evacuations. The types of searches that BSAR carry out can vary greatly. They can be looking for elderly people with dementia, or finding troubled teens, or assisting adults with behavioural health issues. These seemingly different scenarios all have one thing in common – all the missing persons are vulnerable individuals who require specialist care and attention. Most of the BSAR members also have other full time jobs and families to take care of. They selflessly dedicate their spare time to helping find and help these vulnerable people.
Why did Bucks Search and Rescue choose Travall?
The BSAR team is a charity, which receives no government funding. It raises its own funds through assistance from companies. It also does its own fundraising, such as providing first aid cover at local events. Thanks to a grant from The Morrisons Foundation, BSAR was able to purchase a Land Rover Discovery 3. This was just a standard vehicle, so it needed appropriate car accessories to make it suitable for carrying the various equipment that they use. The team has to adapt the equipment that they need to each setting because their search areas are so varied. They also need durable products that are fully fit for purpose. Their products of choice are Travall vehicle-specific accessories, because they know they are tried and trusted and will fit their vehicle perfectly. The Travall Guard and Divider have both earned the reputation of being products that stay firmly in position with no annoying rattles regardless of the terrain encountered on their rescue missions. Travall was happy to assist by donating a Travall Guard, Divider and Travall Liner for use in the Land Rover Discovery 3. This enables them to carry stretchers and other gear with ease, while keeping these separate from the vehicle’s occupants at the same time.
BSAR appreciates the features of the Travall Guard – a durable barrier for even the toughest of conditions. No shake, no rattle, just roll! We’ll be working closely with BSAR in the next couple of months to find out even more about the valuable work that they do. We’re even hoping to participate in one of their training sessions. So watch this space to find out more about this organisation and how the Travall products work for them. In the meantime, why not see what’s available for your fleet to give your team and their vehicles that additional layer of protection.
