Sparwood Search and Rescue (SAR) and Fernie SAR were called out yesterday afternoon (Dec. 27) for an SOS activation from an inReach emergency beacon in the Corbin area southeast of Sparwood.

“When SAR members arrived at the location they found a group of snowmobilers who were very surprised to see them, as the riders had no idea that their beacon had been accidentally activated while in one of their backpacks,” Fernie SAR reported on its Facebook page.

“The inReach device in this case was an older model, and there have been other reports of accidental SOS activations when enough pressure is applied to the SOS button even with the button lock on. We’ve also encountered accidental activations with other brands and models of emergency beacon.”

With that in mind, the SAR units are asking people using the beacons to ensure they are doing so correctly.

“When you carry an emergency beacon, it’s important to ensure the lock functions correctly and that you carry it in a way that the button won’t be pressed accidentally. You should also make sure you know how to cancel an emergency alert, in case of a false alarm,” Fernie SAR suggested, providing a link to an article with more info on checking your inReach button lock.

“Please note that while the article mentions one case of a person being billed for a false alarm, that case was in Russia, and in B.C. there is no charge for #SAR services,” SAR concluded.

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