Community invited to Search and Rescue Open House Aug. 17

SEELEY LAKE – After officially moving into their new building in the fall of 2015 at 130 Shop Road near the Seeley Lake Airport, Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue is inviting the community to an Open House Aug. 17 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The community is invited to tour the facility, meet the volunteers and enjoy free hamburgers and hot dogs. There will be an official "Grand Opening" presentation at 1 p.m.

SSSAR was a part of Missoula County Search and Rescue until 2010 when they formed their own unit under the Missoula County Sheriff's Office. They moved into the Seeley Lake Fire Department's Station 2 north of Seeley Lake. This allowed them a place to store some of their equipment but there was no room to expand.

The voters passed a bond to support the SSSAR in 2010. SSSAR's goal was to save enough to make a down payment on a new building. By 2014, they saved enough money to pay 40 percent of the cost and took out an Intercap Loan for the rest.

Seeley Lake County Shop Supervisor Dave Harrison and employee Joe Miller approached Director of Public Works Greg Robertson asking if the one-acre adjacent to the current shop could be used for the SSSAR building. In 2014, the Missoula County Commissioners approved the 10-year lease for the land.

Outback Construction from Missoula, Mont. completed the one-story 40 by 90 foot building with a conference room, kitchen, bathrooms and storage area in October of 2015.

"Having a place to call home is the biggest deal," said SSSAR volunteer Gerry Connell who was the SSSAR chief from 2010-2017.

The new building includes a conference area for training, office space, WiFi availability, all of which they didn't have space for at Station 2. SSSAR also stores all of is equipment including side-by-side, snowmobiles, jet boat and miscellaneous rescue equipment and trailer. They recently purchased a ¾ ton pickup to serve as the main rescue vehicle so they no longer need to use their personal vehicles. This was something Connell said wasn't possible before because they had no place to store it where the members all had access to it.

"The open house has always been something we wanted to do. We just decided to bite the bullet and get it done," said Connell. "Come and inspect the building and meet the crew."