Why “Bill Them” Isn’t the Answer

“They should be charged.”

“They were stupid.” “They were negligent.” “Send them the bill.”

We hear some version of this after almost every rescue, and it deserves a conversation.

Search and Rescue in British Columbia does not charge people for rescue—and there are some very important reasons why.

First, people in genuine distress need to call for help early, without first calculating whether they can afford it.

As soon as money is involved, things get complicated. We have seen people visiting from the United States run from rescuers and try to hide in the bushes because they believed they would be charged for the rescue.

That serves no one. It puts the subject in greater danger and makes the rescue more difficult.

Second, Search and Rescue is treated as a public-safety service.

We generally do not send someone a bill when firefighters respond to a house fire because they left a pan on the stove. We do not invoice someone for a car crash because they made a driving error.

The same principle applies to SAR.

Third, encouraging people to call early ultimately protects rescuers.

Delayed calls frequently mean night operations, worsening weather, larger search areas and more complex terrain. All of these increase the exposure and risk to SAR members.

The person who calls early is usually easier—and safer—to rescue than the person who waits until they have no other choice.

Finally, it is almost impossible to fairly decide who “deserves” a bill.

Was someone reckless? Inexperienced? Unlucky? Did they receive a bad forecast? Suffer an unexpected injury? Make a simple human error?

Experienced mountaineers have accidents too.

Creating a system to investigate, assign blame and potentially litigate responsibility after every rescue would be enormously complicated—and would itself cost money.

None of this means SAR believes people have no responsibility.

Our approach is to separate rescue from blame:

Rescue first. Educate and prevent afterward.

SAR volunteers spend hundreds of hours speaking at schools, hiking and mountaineering clubs, giving public presentations, sharing lessons from rescues, and encouraging people to use resources such as AdventureSmart.

We would much rather help people make better decisions before their next trip than make them afraid to call us when something has already gone wrong.

So yes, sometimes people make poor decisions. Sometimes people are underprepared. Sometimes people make mistakes.

But when someone is in genuine distress, we want them to call.

Call early. Call before the situation gets worse. Let us come and help.