PORT ANGELES — Although they always move fast — and even faster when lives are at stake — it takes precious time for the Coast Guard to scramble a helicopter or dispatch a rescue boat.
And with the warren of harbors, inlets and estuaries of the Northwest’s waterways, rescuers could always use another pair of eyes and ears.
That’s why the call went out last week for volunteers to join the 13th District Citizens Action Network.
The network is a collection of volunteers who live near the water and have views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca or the ocean.
Their job, when called upon, is to look out their window and report what they see.
There’s no boot camp, uniforms or saluting. And no danger.
“There’s really no risk to anyone,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Kurt Fredrickson, a spokesman for the 13th Coast Guard District based in Seattle.
“If there was, we wouldn’t put them out there.”
Some 200 in program
About 200 members are now in the program.
They can be called on to assist search and rescue missions, responses to environmental incidents and other maritime emergencies.
Again, they do that by looking out their windows.
Jack Wise, a member of the program for the last few months who lives in the Dungeness area, said he hasn’t been called up yet.
“Which means there hasn’t been an emergency or a search and rescue or spill or anything,” Wise said.
When signing up for the program, the Coast Guard gives new members a basic description of what they would be looking for, Wise said.
“If they call you, they will go into greater detail,” he said.
“We can go and observe, make a report, and not get in the way and not take time away.”
How to sign up
To volunteer for Citizen’s Action Network or get more information, contact the Coast Guard in Seattle at 206-220-7237 or click on www.uscg.mil/d13/can.
