Central Okanagan Search and Rescue is the first search and rescue group in Canada to add electric mountain bikes to their list of equipment.

The local search and rescue group recently purchased seven of the pedal-assist electric bikes to allow members quicker access to hard to reach areas.

While the bikes don't have a typical throttle like a dirtbike or motorbike, the pedal-assist function provides extra power while the bike is being pedalled.

Dan Schlosser, president of COSAR, said a member had a couple of their own similar bikes that they tried out on a few rescues last year, and they proved very useful.

“We picked up a young lady who was mountain biking, and she injured her foot and we took the ATVs out, but we couldn't get in, the trail was too narrow,” Schlosser said.

“We took a couple people with the E-bikes, and they got up there and stabilized her.”

A hill climb at a recent COSAR training exercise in Okanagan Mountain Park that usually takes about three hours took about 45 minutes on the new bikes.

COSAR, made up of about 50 volunteers, responds to an average of 50 to 60 rescues per year. Schlosser said across B.C., search and rescue groups respond to more calls for help than all the other provinces in Canada combined. This, he says, is a function of the type of varied terrain in B.C.

COSAR volunteers meet every Thursday for training, to brush up on their skills, and learn new ones. Schlosser says their volunteers come from all walks of life.

“We can teach them any skills that they need to know to be a good searcher but we can't teach attitude, so we always look for the right attitude,” he said.

Most recently, COSAR members assisted in the search for Jordan Mooney in the McKinley Landing area earlier this month. After several days of searching, Mooney's body was eventually found. Foul play was not suspected in his death.