A HIGHLANDS mountain rescue team has started a crowdfunding campaign for an extension to its base, which it says it has "outgrown".
Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team (GMRT) has started a crowdfunding campaign to help raise £100,000 towards the cost of extending its base.
The volunteer team’s current rescue centre was officially opened in 1999 and was described as a “big step forward” for the organisation at the time.
However, due to increased callouts, as demand almost tripled from 1999 to 2023, the rescue team is looking to expand their base with proposed extension plans already drawn up.
READ MORE: Scottish mountain rescue teams' callouts increase, figures show
The proposed expansion includes a new garage allowing the team to keep their vehicles easily accessible in case of an emergency, including those kept on trailers such as boats and quad bikes.
Volunteers said their vehicles are currently packed closely together inside the centre, and need to be moved around to get them out in an emergency.
The main training and meeting space would also be expanded to allow the GMRT to have their entire team present for essential training and to accommodate over 50 rescuers for briefings during large-scale multi-agency searches.
The expansion would also include a space which would allow the team to have a dedicated space for drones and other equipment such as medical supplies, ropes, stretchers and provisions for team and casualties.
The fundraiser states: “Glencoe Mountain Rescue was formed in 1961 and for many years the team’s equipment and vehicles were stored around the village in volunteers’ houses, so the current Rescue Centre was a big step forward and was officially opened in 1999.
“At this time the team responded to around 35 callouts a year and it would have been hard to imagine how the number of rescues would increase and the amount of rescue equipment would grow in the subsequent 25 years.
“In 2023 alone we attended over 90 rescues and it is no surprise that we have outgrown the building that has served us so well for the last quarter century. So the time is right for us to extend our rescue centre.
“We believe this extension will improve the service that we can provide and best serve all who enjoy our hills for the next 25 years or more.”
Anyone who wishes to donate can do so on the Crowdfund page.
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