Recent Powell River Search and Rescue retiree Andy Perkonig spent 40 years as a volunteer going into dangerous conditions and putting his life on the line to help others. He called it a day this past January.
A native of Austria, he travelled to Canada intending to stay for six months. Entranced by the freedom and the fishing, he never left. He was a chef by trade and worked for Delta Hotels when he first came, then worked for 15 years as a baker in Safeway.
Missing the outdoors, and not wanting to be working inside all the time, Perkonig became a deputy sheriff and then worked for BC Ambulance Service, following in the footsteps of his mother, who was also a paramedic. He later worked at the Powell River mill, doing security, and then for the health and safety department. He retired 10 years ago.
Perkonig started with the search and rescue society in 1979.
“I just came out of the military,” he said. “I always liked the mountains. Mountaineering is one of things I always love to do. I heard about the rescue team, so I thought I would join them.”
Training is extensive, unpaid and demands a high level of commitment. The basic SAR course runs from January to May. He received his ticket soon thereafter and was out in the field, while also continually upgrading and refining his skills through further training.
Powell River Search and Rescue is the local branch of the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association. The volunteer agency performs search and rescue operations in the area around Powell River, including the many freshwater lakes, backcountry, caves and more. Members have also assisted with the evacuation of communities hit by wildfires, and work in tandem with other agencies such as the RCMP, fire department, BC Coroners Service, and search and rescue teams from other jurisdictions.
RCMP often call the team in to assist or take over an operation. The local search and rescue team averages about 30 calls per year.
“There are about 35 volunteers from all walks of life,” said Perkonig about members of the Powell River branch.
After so many years, he said he has just about seen and done it all. He was involved with the rescue of two teens who were hurt and had to be rescued from a high-tension transmission tower in June of 2016, and part of the rescue that saw a two-year-old girl who had wandered off being returned to her grateful parents.
Not all rescues end well, he said. Sometimes they are too late and the team comes back, wishing they could have done more, or arrived earlier to save someone, he added.
On some occasions, the volunteer needs to be rescued, which was the case for Perkonig when he broke his knee while out on a call.
“We got the phone call that somebody had fallen off a cliff up by Toba Inlet,” he said.
The team responded in the middle of the night. Conditions were bad: mountainous, icy, dark, with crumbling shale under foot.
“I started to slip,” he added. “My leg got caught between two trees and I twisted and broke my knee.”
He was pulled out by helicopter and spent some months in recovery before rejoining the team.
Perkonig said his wife is glad he has retired and won’t miss the late night phone calls, not knowing what her husband is in for when he heads out the door, and waiting anxiously at home with family members for his return.
“Some calls go for several days and you are gone for that long,” he adds.”
Strong bonds are forged between search and rescue members over stories of heartbreak and successes, often shared during long vigils in the night, said Perkonig.
“It is a great outfit to volunteer with,” he added. “The volunteers want to serve the community.”
He ended his career as a trainer, eager to pass on all he had learned to the newer volunteers.
“My ceiling is their floor,” he said.
Perkonig still has all his safety gear and equipment, collected over his years as a volunteer, and while he has formally retired, he has let it be known that if the phone rings again, he will answer a call for help.
