When the call comes in, your whole team knows in seconds.
SAR21 is the all-in-one platform for SAR teams: critical alerts that break through silent mode, live response tracking, trainings, equipment, and automated Caltopo maps. Organize. Deploy. Rescue.
30-day free trial · Web portal + iOS & Android apps
Critical callout alerts
Alerts your team can't miss
Standard push notifications get silenced. SAR21 callout alerts are engineered to get through — because minutes matter.
Breaks through Do Not Disturb
iOS Critical Alerts sound at full volume even when the phone is silenced or sleeping. Built for the 2 a.m. callout.
Emergency channels on Android
A dedicated emergency alert channel bypasses Do Not Disturb with a custom siren your members will never mistake for a text.
Standby → Deploy escalation
Page the team for standby, then escalate to deploy when the mission is a go. Everyone’s status updates in real time.
Respond from the notification
One tap opens the response screen: Responding with ETA, Standby, or Unavailable. Dispatch watches the board fill in live.
One platform
Your whole team. One source of truth.
Stop stitching together spreadsheets, group texts, and five different apps. In SAR21, your roster, callouts, trainings, equipment, and maps all share the same live data.
Everything connected
Callouts pull from your live roster, equipment inventory, and maps. Trainings source the same members and the same gear — nothing entered twice.
Data that compounds
Training attendance rolls into member records and certifications. Availability on the roster feeds callout dispatch. Every action makes the next one faster.
Real time, everywhere
Admins plan on the web portal; the field runs on the mobile app. Same records, updated live — no version confusion, no "check the other spreadsheet."
General availability
Know who you've got — before you need them
Volunteer teams live and die by who's actually reachable. Every member keeps a simple general status, and admins see the whole picture in real time.
One glance, whole team
The dashboard availability bar and roster show who’s Available, Out of Town, Sick, or Responding — before you page anyone.
Set it and forget it
Members mark themselves out with an end date — gone for the weekend, back Monday — and SAR21 flips them back to Available automatically.
Plan around real numbers
Holiday weekend? Hunting season? Search planners see true available strength at a glance instead of finding out after the team is activated.
Search urgency analysis
Know how urgent it is before you launch
SAR21 builds the standard 10-factor urgency assessment right into your workflow — no paper worksheet to dig out, no math to double-check. An instant gauge and a response recommendation support the call, and the judgment is still yours.
The protocol you already run — scored instantly
The standard 10-factor SAR urgency questionnaire — subject count, age, medical condition, experience, weather, terrain, and more — scored and color-coded the moment you finish it. No pencil math at 2 a.m.
Run it before you activate
Available straight from the dashboard the moment the call comes in — even overseeing-agency users can run it — so you decide with a real score, not a gut feeling.
Flows into the callout, untouched
Launch a search from the analysis and every answer carries over into the callout. Nothing re-entered, nothing lost in the handoff.
A defensible record, automatically
Every completed analysis is logged to a Search Urgency Reports audit trail — who ran it, when, the score, and a required decision note if no search was initiated.
Caltopo integration
Your Caltopo maps, on autopilot
Most SAR teams live in Caltopo. SAR21 connects directly to your Caltopo team and takes the map setup off your plate — saving real minutes at mission start.
A map for every mission — automatically
The moment a callout goes out, SAR21 creates a new Caltopo map and links it to the callout record. No copying links around at 2 a.m.
Your map template, every time
Configure premade folders and organization once. Every map SAR21 creates starts structured exactly the way your team works.
Connected to your Caltopo team
Uses your existing Caltopo team account and sharing settings — SAR21 handles the busywork, Caltopo stays your map.
1 · One click on the callout record
How it works
Web portal + mobile app, working together
Admins organize and dispatch from the web. The team responds from the field. Both sides see the same mission, live.
Dispatch from the web portal
Create the callout with location, type, and details. SAR21 builds the Caltopo map and alerts your callout group instantly.
Every phone sounds off
Critical alerts break through silent mode on iOS and Android. Members see the mission details right from the notification.
Watch the response live
Members respond with status and ETA in one tap. Dispatch sees the response board fill in and coordinates from there — chat, assignments, equipment.
Features
Everything a SAR team runs on
21+ tools in one platform — from the first page to the final debrief.
Callout dispatch & response tracking
Standby and deploy callouts with live response statuses, ETAs, and arrival tracking.
Missing person profiles
Subject photos, physical description, medical notes, and last-seen info attached to the callout.
Clue tracking
Log clues with coordinates and status — synced bi-directionally with your CalTopo map.
Law enforcement agency portal
Your overseeing agency gets its own access — team availability at a glance, plus standby and deploy requests that alert leadership instantly.
CalTopo map automation
Auto-created, template-organized CalTopo maps linked to every callout.
AI behavior insights
AI-generated search strategy, probable locations, and next actions from subject and terrain inputs.
Search urgency analysis
A structured questionnaire that scores urgency across age, medical, weather, terrain, and more.
Critical alerts
iOS Critical Alerts, Android emergency channels, plus SMS and email that break through silent mode.
Roster & general availability
Available, Out of Town, Sick — with auto-reset end dates so planners see true team strength.
Trainings & attendance
Schedule trainings, track attendance, and feed hours into member records.
See it in action
The portal and the app
About SAR21
Built for responders, by a responder
SAR21 was born from more than a decade in the field. Founder Justin Calamia is an active Search and Rescue volunteer with San Benito County SAR in California — ground pounder, licensed UAV drone pilot, and trained in search management.
Across teams large and small he watched the same struggle: operations stitched together from spreadsheets and half a dozen disconnected apps — fragmented data, version conflicts, and friction at the worst possible times. SAR21 is the answer: one cloud platform built specifically for how SAR teams actually work, so managers can organize and responders can focus on what they do best — saving lives.
For SAR, by SAR
Every feature comes from real operational needs, shaped by direct input from active SAR members — not guesses about how teams work.
Purpose-built & focused
We streamline management, communication, and response — and partner with best-in-class tools like Caltopo instead of reinventing them.
Community-driven
Fair pricing for volunteer teams and continuous improvement driven by feedback from the people using SAR21 in the field.
Pricing
Simple, transparent pricing
One subscription covers your whole team — web portal and mobile apps included. Start with a free 30-day trial.
The SAR21 mobile app is free on both stores — members sign in with their team account.
FAQ