Emergency Response Teams, born from the First Responder program, are a very simple concept.
First Responders are made up of community members who volunteer their time and acquired training to aide other community members in times of need. A First Responder can be any member of a community over the age of 18. Many are local farmers and ranchers, retirees, volunteer fire fighters, and other community members. Almost anyone can be trained to become a First Responder.
First Responder training is approximately 40 hours and can be delivered on weekends or week nights so that it is convenient for the volunteers taking the program. All rural municipalities are encouraged to develop First Responder programs in their geographical area.
Being a First Responder is a volunteer position. Once an individual successfully completes the First Responder training they are licensed and governed by the Government of Saskatchewan as an EMS provider. First Responders need to be registered with their local health region, if they are not associated with a health region then recertification is required every three years.