CAMP mobile clinic doubles as command post for BAYSAR (North Bay Search and Rescue) operations
BAYSAR and District of Nipissing Paramedic Services team up for vital search and rescue operations
An interesting partnership has developed that will benefit those involved in search and rescue exercises.
The collaboration between Nipissing Paramedic Services and BAYSAR (North Bay Air Search and Rescue) developed after the new CAMP (Clinical Access Mobile Partnership) program went online last May.
“The CAMP vehicle was on standby once last spring when the OPP called us out for a missing persons search outside of the North Bay area. We haven’t had to deploy it in an actual search yet,” explained Stan French, BAYSAR President.
“It certainly is a benefit to us when we’re training.”
CAMP is a fully outfitted mobile medical clinic.
The vehicle features “an area for virtual meetings, a patient exam space, wheelchair accessibility, all-wheel drive, hot and cold running water, and solar charging, which allows it to stay on site for extended periods.”
BAYSAR will benefit from the vehicle’s ability to be utilized as a command post.
“If they get deployed on a search, particularly with Project Lifesaver, they can call upon us to provide that vehicle as their command centre, which they never had before. They didn’t have that opportunity, so now they have a secure, warm, dry place to set up their equipment and go about their search,” explained Bryce Gartner, Deputy Chief Community Health and Integration, Nipissing Paramedic Services
For the past few months, the two organizations have carried out coordinated training exercises in the event they are called out on a rescue mission, adding another layer to their response capability.
“We would go out, and they would set up a practice search, and we would deploy the vehicle. They would set up their command centre and walk through all the steps. It was very interesting,” Gartner noted.
” The vehicle is available 24/7; our staffing pattern is a little bit different on nights, so we do offer it to them 24/7, but it takes a little bit of collaboration, and we have to negotiate that.”
As BAYSAR president for many years, French sees the many benefits of the partnership.
“This is an excellent opportunity for BAYSAR to use their (CAMP) vehicle as a command post in emergency situations, and that is for both training and for callouts when we’re called out to assist police,” noted French.
“Even if the police have their own command post, having the CAMP vehicle allows BAYSAR to have a place where we can coordinate our own efforts and to even get out of the elements if need be. If we have to do a search in extreme winter weather, we have a place to get warm and refreshed and get ready to get back out for the search.”
Operated by Nipissing Paramedic Services, the intent behind the CAMP unit is to share resources for health care agencies in communities across the district.
“That is its primary purpose. It is there to partner with community organizations to respond to community needs. In this case, the ability of the paramedics to provide a driver and the van means they can go to areas where they can assist us, and they have an excellent capability with their Starlink connection that we can use to coordinate our search efforts,” French added.
“Even if police are unable to respond to say a Project Lifesaver search, we can use that vehicle as a command post to search an area and do it in the same manner that the police do with computer-based search techniques that show the area that has been searched, and the areas we need to focus on.”
French went on to explain Project Lifesaver.
“It is a means to find vulnerable people quickly, using radio frequency technology, where each client wears a transmitter with a specific frequency.”
BAYSAR also conducts search and rescue operations from the air.
“The air component is minimal. The majority of the searches are done on the ground, and it is only like with Project Lifesaver, if we can’t get a signal quickly, then we launch an aircraft to expand the search.”
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Linda Holmes
Jun 3, 2026 7:00 AM
Update Jun 3, 2026 11:29 AM
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