BANGOR’S dedicated K9 search and rescue team will be able to help more local families in their darkest hours thanks to a new base in the city centre.
A £20,000 National Lottery funding boost has allowed the team to set up its Main Street headquarters, with an official opening ceremony held last weekend.
Amongst the special guests attending the opening ceremony were North Down MP Alex Easton, deputy Mayor Vicky Moore and councillor Wesley Irvine.
The team provides specialised search and rescue dogs for urban, rural, coastal and disaster situations to locate missing people.
The Bangor volunteers also boast international experience and took part in the Turkey rescue efforts following the devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. They have also travelled to the United States and Malta for training operations.
Set up by Bangor man Ryan Gray in 2017, the charity has continued to grow, with an increased number of volunteers and dogs specifically trained in lifesaving search and rescue skills, for urban, rural and coastal settings.
The new headquarters will provide a dedicated space for training, community engagement and education as well as an operations room to co-ordinate search missions both locally and further afield.
The Main Street base also boasts a dormitory for volunteers or visitors during operations as well as a well stocked equipment store-room.
However, for the volunteer-led charity, having a base is more than bricks and mortar, it is an investment in their volunteers, dogs and the community they serve.
The new headquarters is set to be a ‘shared community asset’ as the charity opens their doors to like minded organisations, providing a space for collaboration, training and initiatives that strengthen the wider community.
North Down MP Alex Easton said he was both ‘delighted and honoured’ to have been invited to the launch of the new premises and thanked the charity’s volunteers ‘for all you do’.
Joanne Dorrian, K9 Search and Rescue NI’s chair, said: “We have poured every penny into that building to the standard we see today and we’re really proud of what we have achieved. This is not just a home for us but it is actually a base for our community, to show them how dedicated we are to finding local missing people.”
Paul Fieldhouse, who works as a company director, is also a dog handler and search planner for K9, and he gave a valuable insight into his lifesaving work.
“It’s an opportunity to volunteer and do something worthwhile, it’s an opportunity for me to get away from my desk,” said Mr Fieldhouse. “Though there will be demanding circumstances and situations, they are great people to work with, and I’ve made new friends including some very close ones.”
