In Iceland there is no army or National Guard so in an emergency, the people who are called, are SAR.

SAR is an all volunteer organization providing vital public services to local communities – such as sea and mountain rescues, unblocking roads due to ice and snow, providing safety education to children and more.

In Grindavik, where you will visit the SAR headquarters, there is a youth program with 6 instructors who donate their time to train the teenage volunteers.  There are 30 teenagers members of the youth program in Grindavik and they meet once a week. There are 51 youth programs in Iceland with about 1100 members. The Icelandic Youth SAR program is part of YOURS (Youth for Road Safety). Children as young as 14 years old can join the search and rescue team, and upon their 18th birthday, they graduate to the adult unit. Prior to joining, they may have attended a youth outdoors school in Snaefellsnes, which acts as both a training center for search and rescue, as well as an opportunity to learn survival skills like first aid, sailing techniques, and more.

SAR in Grindavik was founded in 1930, recently celebrating their 90th anniversary and since their founding,  have saved 233 lives from sea wrecks.