Transylvania County Rescue Squad

04/14/2026

At approximately 1630 on Monday the 13th Station 3 was dispatched to Mountain Biker with an unknown leg injury on the South Mills River Trail. Multiple squad members were already out in the forest recreating, leading to an expedited response. The first arriving members utilized an ebike to make initial patient contact and begin providing medical care less than an hour after the initial 911 call despite the trailhead being over 7 miles from the patient’s location. An ATV team followed shortly afterwards delivering Transylvania County Emergency Services paramedics to the point of injury. Our partnership with TCEMS allows patients to receive ALS level care including IV pain mediation and advanced diagnostics no matter where they are injured. The initial ATV team was backed up by another ebike team and 4 rescuers in a UTV. The patient was treated for their injuries, packaged, and transported back out the Horse Stables for transfer to the ambulance.

While transporting the first patient Station 3 was dispatched to two lost subjects in the area of Club Gap. The hikers had been attempting to hike the Pink Beds loop but had gotten off course. Command made phone contact with the subjects and provided verbal instructions guiding them out to the nearest trailhead. Simultaneously command dispatched 5 rescuers to rendezvous with the subjects and es**rt them to their vehicles. The subjects were located well and uninjured and transported back to their vehicle. All units were clear of both scenes by 2000.

Station 3 members have been busy. These were the third and fourth SAR calls for the squad in less than 36 hours. On Sunday squad members responded to a mountain biker with an open fracture on Avery Creek Trail and a hiker having a cardiac event deep in the Pink Beds Loop. It appears that the busy summer season has begun. In all cases the lost or injured parties notified 911 early allowing rescuers to respond long before dark. Even with these longer days it gets cold quickly. Make sure to bring layers, let others know your plans, and carry a communication device.

04/07/2026

The United States Forest Service is assessing a possible wildfire in Pisgah National Forest near Looking Glass Rock. USFS crews and aircraft are currently on the scene. Please avoid the area while the USFS crews investigate and conduct their work.

03/30/2026

A great weekend to get out and train with our partners! 💪🏻

03/08/2026

Happy International Women's Day, from TCRS!

01/18/2026

Strong work Henderson County Rescue Squad ! ❄️

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WSPA) – A local rescue crew is preparing for any emergency, no matter the season. Even with temperatures below 20 degrees overnight in the mountains, the Henderson Cou…

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from Transylvania County Rescue Squad!

12/24/2025

Check out this feature in the The Charlotte Observer:

They were stranded more than 15 hours, officials say.

12/23/2025

TCRS & partners perform ground up rescue to access rock climbers stranded on Looking Glass Rock after an unplanned night out

At approximately 7:50 on Monday the 22nd Transylvania County Rescue Squad was dispatched to the Sunwall area of Looking Glass to search for an overdue climbing party known to have spent an unplanned night on the wall. The missing persons last made contact at 1am when they reported being stranded 200ft up a cliff while rock climbing. Connestee Fire Rescue was requested to provide UAV search capabilities and Henderson County Rescue Squad was requested to provide rescue support.

An initial drone search of Looking Glass's climbing areas was unable to locate the missing party. A hasty team deployed to the top of Looking Glass via the hiking trail to conduct a visual and auditory search. That team was equipped and prepared to rappel off the side of Looking Glass to access any victims from above. Containment search teams deployed to the Nose and the Southside areas to perform ground searches.

Command deployed 2 specialized teams of rescuers equipped to access victims from below by lead climbing from the ground. These rescuers use the traditional or “trad” rock climbing techniques that involve placing removable anchors in the rock as they climb while being belayed from below. At approx 10:10am rescuers made verbal contact with the missing party in the trees above the South Side climbing area. Rescuers climbed 200ft of vertical rock across 3 pitches to reach the stranded party. Both climbers were found uninjured having survived a night out in freezing temperatures by stuffing their clothes with leaves. Additional rescuers climbed 60ft up to establish an intermediate anchor. Both stranded climbers were lowered to the ground, evaluated by medical personnel, and transported back to their vehicle without incident. All units were clear of Pisgah National Forest by noon.

The stranded climbers were equipped for their climbing route but started late in the day and failed to bring a reliable light source. They made the great decision to stay put once night fell and avoided turning an unfortunate situation tragic. With days being short and nights being cold always bring an adequate light source and make plans knowing how much daylight is left. This rescue required the specialized expertise of TCRS & HCRS's rock climbers including several professional guides representing an immense amount of training and regional teamwork. A heartfelt thank you to all of the agencies that responded to support this effort, the families of those responders, and all of those in this community that put their trust in us.

12/14/2025

Our organization hosted the annual holiday and awards banquet this past week. This is our favorite time of year to reflect on the accomplishments of our team and the individuals who stepped up in significant ways to improve our ability to serve our community.

We also added a new tradition to our celebration, an academy graduation. Recent graduates of our 13 academy were pinned with their jacket name tags on stage as we congratulated them individually.

Awards given out:
Rescuer of the year - Tom Lebeck
Chief's Award - Tom Lebeck
Most Improved - Elizabeth Hornfeck
Most Calls - Parker Taylor and Aidan Kearns
Most Training Hours - Kyle Lutze and Sylvia Brandenberg

Happy Holidays from our rescue family to yours!

Special thank you to Deerwoode Reserve for sharing their space with us, to Pescado's & Sunrise for catering, and to Henderson County Rescue Squad for volunteering to cover calls for our members while celebrating. We are grateful for our years of long-standing partnership.

12/08/2025

This past weekend, our very first academy cohort of 12 completed their exams and practical application 3 days experience.

They are cleared for graduation and ready to join our active membership on calls.

Their weekend began Friday night with a simulated helicopter crash with patient entrapment. They needed to extricate a patient with hypothermia and provide adequate treatment while managing the effects of a cold wet environment on themselves.

Saturday into Sunday consisted of 8 patient extrication scenarios in the forest. Patients were placed in areas such as rock ledges around John's Rock, near waterfalls, and under bridges. Students were required to show proficiency in their ability to problem solve and work safely as a team. Sunday, after demonstrating their ability to camp overnight in winter conditions, they were to showcase their ability to use ropes and gear to rappel down John's Rock safely.

Congratulations to our newest team members on this significant accomplishment! They dedicated themselves to a strenuous 13 week program and the fruits of their effort were highlighted over this past weekend.

Special thank you and congratulations to our academy instructor leads, Tom, Jayne, Brooks, and Calvin, The Cadre, for their commitment and dedication to our academy.

12/01/2025

As we move into the holiday season, we would like to take a moment to give thanks to our membership, most of whom are volunteers, who show up again and again for the calls to care for members of our community - An extraordinary commitment to service.

Neighbors serving neighbors.

At the end of this past September, Transylvania County Rescue Squad (TCRS) members were brought on stage and honored at an event hosted by SparkPoint. The event focused on how our community came together during a natural disaster, how our resilience and grit shined through the storm, and how sharing our stories gives us the power to move forward.

TCRS was humbled to be invited and presented an award for our role in disaster response during Hurricane Helene. More than 30 of our members showed up every day leading up to the storm and during the aftermath of the storm. If you see them out in the community, please join us thanking them for their service to the residents of Transylvania County.

Read aloud:
"The Transylvania County Search and Rescue Squad is recognized for their extraordinary dedication before, during, and after Hurricane Helene. Before the storm, they completed critical preparations to protect the community. During the storm, they carried out 100–125 water rescues, working with outside agencies to bring people to safety. After the storm, they performed 200 daily welfare checks, distributed MREs and water, and delivered essential supplies throughout the county. Often placing themselves at risk, the squad demonstrated unmatched courage, collaboration, and compassion in safeguarding the health and safety of Transylvania County."

With Love - Happy Holidays to you and your families,
TCRS

11/28/2025

On Wednesday, our crews responded to a call reported as a fall with injury. Upon arrival, the patient was found to be without a pulse. Through excellent teamwork between North Transylvania Fire Rescue, Transylvania County EMS, the Transylvania County Rescue Squad, and our dispatchers, we were able to achieve ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation). The patient was transported to the hospital, where MAMA then flew them to Mission.

While we don’t know the patient’s final outcome, this call highlights exactly why we do what we do. It also shows the incredible impact of volunteers in our community:
• 75% of the North Transylvania firefighters who responded were volunteers.
• 70% of the total responders from North Transylvania and the Rescue Squad were volunteers.

If you’re interested in learning how you can be part of our life-saving mission, please reach out—we’d love to share how you can serve your community.