What is
HUMBSAR?
Developed by HFR Solutions CIC, Humberside Search and Rescue (HUMBSAR) is a volunteer lowland search and rescue team providing life-saving support across the Humber region 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
HUMBSAR extends our emergency response capability beyond the industrial environments we support daily. By combining structured training, professional standards, and community commitment, we provide vital assistance when vulnerable people go missing and families need urgent help.
OUR Mission
Providing 24/7 Support,
365 Days a Year
When a vulnerable person is missing, every minute matters.
Activated by Humberside Police, HUMBSAR provides trained Search Technicians, Team Leaders, and Search Managers who work alongside emergency partners to locate and care for missing individuals.
Our volunteers regularly support searches involving:
- Children and elderly people
- People living with dementia or Alzheimer’s
- Individuals experiencing mental-health crises or suicidal thoughts
Beyond finding individuals, our teams can give immediate medical care and preserve potential crime scenes if required.
THe need
Why HUMBSAR Exists
According to the National Crime Agency (2020), Humberside has the highest number of unresolved missing-person cases in the region — 142 adults and 63 children whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Children in Yorkshire & the Humber are also twice as likely to be reported missing as the national average.
Behind every number is a family waiting for answers.
HUMBSAR was created to ensure a professional, volunteer-led search capability is always available — providing rapid support when lives may be at risk.
HOW WE WORK
Our Service Delivery Approach
Rescue Technicians include: all rescue/medical equipment, RAMS, Rescue Plan, and a full capability for Confined Space Rescue, Work at Height Rescue and Medical Intervention/Enhanced First Aid (including pain relief etc).
All of our Rescue Technicians are also qualified firefighters and/or paramedics, and all with live operational experience, dealing with real world emergency incidents.
Our teams must complete the National Occupational Standards EUSCS08 (work as a member of a rescue and recovery team in confined spaces) and EUSCS03 (work in high risk confined space) as a minimum requirement.
The competence and capability of a rescue team to appropriately intervene in a crisis with the correct skills, knowledge and equipment is vital to safely and effectively deal with an emergency incident. Our experienced teams will deliver onsite response to control and mitigate risk to plant and personnel.
Our rescue teams have experience dealing with fire, rescue and medical emergencies and carrying the latest rescue and medical equipment to resolve any emergency.
Specialist Rescue Support for Every Environment
Types of Emergency Rescue Teams
While “Emergency Rescue Team” is the umbrella term, various specialist teams exist to meet the unique risks posed by different sectors and working environments. HFR Solutions delivers all of these rescue team variants, whether for short-term high-risk projects, medium-term contracts, or permanent presence on COMAH-level sites.
We’re able to mobilise quickly where needed and provide fully trained personnel tailored to your industry, site risks, and compliance requirements. Each team type plays a vital role in preventing incidents, protecting lives, and ensuring operations remain safe, efficient, and fully compliant.
Equipped to manage emergencies across complex industrial sites such as power stations, petrochemical plants, and manufacturing facilities. These teams understand the operational hazards, access challenges, and safety protocols specific to industrial settings.
Provides rescue support for activities carried out at height, such as on rooftops, towers, scaffolding, or wind turbines. These teams are trained in safe access, fall arrest systems, and high-angle rescue operations.
Specialises in rescues from areas with limited entry or exit points like tanks, sewers, culverts, silos, and underground chambers. They’re trained in atmospheric monitoring, specialist breathing apparatus use, and rapid extrication techniques within hazardous confined spaces.
Experts in technical rope systems used in vertical, horizontal, or difficult terrain rescues. These teams are essential where conventional rescue methods aren’t possible, such as in gorges, towers, or remote structures.
Specialised for working within tunnels, shafts, or other subterranean environments where visibility, communication, and ventilation are limited. They often operate with breathing apparatus and confined space techniques.
Positioned on-site during high-risk activities to provide an immediate response in the event of an incident. These teams offer peace of mind for clients by being fully prepared and equipped to intervene without delay.
A multi-skilled unit trained in a broad range of complex rescue disciplines, including rope, water, height, and confined space scenarios. They’re often deployed when the rescue environment involves overlapping hazards.
Specifically trained for emergency situations on offshore installations like wind farms, oil rigs, or marine platforms. They bring a deep understanding of offshore safety protocols, emergency evacuation, and transfer procedures.
Why Choose HFR Solutions?
With a wealth of experience across multiple sectors, HFR Solutions is your trusted partner for bespoke industrial emergency rescue and response solutions. We understand that each project has unique risks, and our team is equipped to deliver tailor-made solutions that ensure the safety of your workforce while minimising operational disruptions. We have assisted numerous organisations with their rescue planning and preparedness, including British Steel, Saltend Chemicals Park, and Orsted.
CASE STUDIES
Our Projects
HFR Solutions work with a variety of organisations,
from public and private sectors. Each have their
own set of challenges, emergency procedures
and site-specific risks.
Send Booking Enquiry
If you wish to send a booking enquiry or learn more about one of our courses, please contact us today.
Testimonials
Hear From Our Clients
“From having a very limited rescue capability, through HFR Solutions we have now got documented rescue plans, risk assessments, and a genuine capability to rescue from all areas of our projects. The rescue training and equipment provided was industry leading.”
Shepley Engineers
Health & Safety Advisor
The confidence in our guys has undoubtedly grown. We have found the training to be very professional, in particular, the Working at Heights training. HFR Solutions CIC adjusts the knowledge delivery according to the needs of the delegates but without missing a thing.
Ecotricity
Health & Safety Advisors
The training we identified was provided by HFR Solutions and as expected it was delivered to a high standard as usual. We can now deploy our employees knowing they will be fully compliant within the Safety regulations they have been trained in.
Green Cross Global
Group Health & Safety Manager
Due to past challenges regarding emergency response, the provision of emergency response specialists was critical to the SBPG team. HFR Solutions delivered this support, along with the competency, experience, and practical expertise to challenge varying aspects of our site’s safety. This proved to be invaluable!
NAES Corporation
HSE Manager
HFR Solutions brought a wealth of experience to the project. Their proactive approach to health and safety across the full project was welcomed by the JV partners. The team demonstrated on multiple occasions that they had the skillset, tools and experience to deal with any incident, both within the tunnelling operations and externally on the CDM site.
Skanska
SHEQ Manager
The medical training was first class. The instructor was highly professional and made a quick and positive connection with his audience. He combined the content with appropriate real-life examples and injected humour sensibly and compassionately. I felt it was clear to see his connection to his role and job and he utilised his experience to great effect.
Ongo
Operations Manager
A very thorough and professional confined space entry rescue team service was provided at short notice. I was in communication with Shaun Lyons on the Friday afternoon and he was able to provide the works including job specific RAMS for the next morning. This allowed our engineering team to carry out our critical path works and enabled the plant to run without any impacted downtime. The team on site was punctual and helpful consistently through the works, which included scaffolding and mechanical maintenance. We will look forward to working together again in the future.
Blackrow Group
Site Manager
Thank you to [HFR Solutions] who delivered a great job for us, very committed and professional and it was a pleasure to meet them and have them working on our site here at Selby. I will suggest to my boss that we should have you on the system as an approved contractor so we can use your team when required for other work. Having you guys as an option speed[s] up our work.
Greencore
Manager
Contact US
Need More Information
We are your trusted rescue and safety specialists. Contact our team to discuss your organisation’s emergency response and training needs.