Park Gets New SAR Vehicle

Zion National Park has received a new addition to its fleet of emergency service vehicles – a 1997 International that was originally outfitted as an ambulance by E-One Corporation for the city of Los Alamos, New Mexico. 

After use as an ambulance at Bandelier NM and Grand Canyon NP, its new home is at Zion NP in service as the primary response vehicle for search and rescue. This vehicle, christened “SAR 1,” replaces a vintage 1980s surplus military box van that was very near the end of its useful life. 

SAR 1 will be used to transport all the diverse equipment used by the Zion SAR program for technical rescues, wheeled litter transports, and raft float-outs of injured canyoneers from the Zion Narrows. The interior of the patient compartment has been modified with a sliding tray with custom welded shelving which allows for storage of heavy ropes with minimal lifting required for their retrieval.