Mountain search and rescue is an extremely specialized skill, arguably the pinnacle of mountaineering artistry. One must be capable of self-rescue to save others. Yet under Taiwan’s current system, the vast majority of mountain rescue responsibilities fall on police and firefighters who lack mountaineering expertise — an unbearable burden indeed!
Firefighters receive primarily fire-related training in school, with mountain rescue instruction barely touching the surface. After being assigned, they typically undergo routine training just once or twice a year. Their daily duties are consumed by firefighting, emergency medical services, and administrative paperwork. With insufficient expertise and training, simply making it up and down the mountain safely is considered a success — let alone conducting high-level technical rescues for missing hikers.
Staff shortages have long been a challenge for fire stations in remote mountainous areas, and the situation is worsening. The Ren’ai Fire Station, for example, has an official staff quota of 10, but only about five are on duty each day. Yet the area of Ren’ai Township is larger than that of Changhua County. These five people are tasked with handling all fire, EMS, rescue, snake removal, and even wasp nest extraction duties for the entire township.
In the event of a mountain accident, team members must take leave to report for duty, leaving the station practically empty — sometimes with just one person on standby. Grassroots firefighters reveal that morale in the police and fire services has been low in recent years. Many veteran rescuers with extensive mountain rescue experience choose early retirement upon reaching retirement age, and vacant positions often go unfilled. As a result, personnel shortages are severe, and team members frequently work overtime. Even after a mountain rescue operation, they’re still expected to pull all-nighters on duty.
Moreover, a serious lack of mountaineering equipment and skills is also an issue. Funding for routine mountain rescue training is tight, and essential gear such as hiking boots and helmets often has to be purchased out of pocket. There’s also a shortage of navigation equipment like GPS trackers, making it difficult to quickly consolidate information about previously searched routes.
Additionally, team members aren’t regularly active at high altitudes. When a mountain accident occurs, they’re suddenly expected to head up the mountain immediately — often to rescue people in harsh weather conditions above 3,000 meters in elevation. Some team members even suffer from altitude sickness themselves, yet they persevere in the rescue efforts. Unfortunately, they still face criticism for “wasting manpower and achieving nothing.”