Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue
Its member organizations consist of 99 rescue units, 70 accident prevention and women's divisions and 50 youth sections.
Although the rescue teams function as a kind of public service, they are not supported or paid for by the government but by donation.
[1] Slysavarnafélagið Landsbjörg has roots going back to 1918 with the formation of a rescue team organized by women in the Westman Islands who sought to establish a lifeline for husbands working in the dangerous fishing industry.
They strive to outfit their people to the highest standard, with both personal gear and expensive rescue equipment like cars, snowmobiles and boats.
The team first responded to an international crisis in 1999 when it assisted in rescuing survivors of the 1999 İzmit earthquake in Turkey.
About 15 years ago the main mission was to raise funds for the local rescue teams.
For example, food habits, use of money, the way to avoid fight and drugs, use of alcohol, smoking, use of contraceptives and accident prevention and discussed.
In this class there has been lack of information concerning accident prevention, and the department has been preparing teaching materials to make that part possible.
Therefore, ICE-SAR provides opportunities for young people of age 14 and over, to learn and practice first aid, orienteering, mountaineering, accident prevention and search and rescue on land and sea.
The young people are in the youth section until they are 18 years old, then they can join the rescue teams and start a more heavy training.
The groups have meetings every week and often go on weekend trips, and in the summer they come together to a national camp that is held in different place every year.
It is a camp that gives all ICE-SAR youths opportunity to meet for one weekend and do all kinds of outdoor activities together and have fun.
Over the summer months, ICE-SAR runs an outdoor school at their training center Gufuskálar in Snæfellsnes.
This camp is a six days course where the participants learn how to use compass, first aid, how to be on a boat and up sailing, and many other activities.
He also runs the outdoor school at the ICE-SAR training center and helps planning the national camp and the youth exchange.
The association's Icelandic Rescue School is housed in Skógarhlíð headquarters, offering numerous courses at rural locations.
Because of the role of rescue teams in civil defence, the school has received some support from Iceland Catastrophe Insurance.
