Sri Lanka Needs an Integrated Search and Rescue Service with Fire Services: A National Imperative in an Era of Climate Risk
Colombo — Floodwaters swallowing towns overnight, hillsides collapsing without warning, fishing boats vanishing at sea, expressway pile‑ups during torrential rain, and apartment fires in congested urban centres are no longer rare or exceptional events in Sri Lanka. They are becoming the new normal. As global warming accelerates climate volatility across the Indian Ocean region, Sri Lanka’s exposure to floods, landslides, coastal disasters, and urban emergencies is increasing with alarming regularity. What has not kept pace, however, is the country’s institutional ability to respond.
Today, Sri Lanka stands at a strategic crossroads. The country has capable individual responders — the Armed Forces, Police, Coast Guard, Fire Brigades, and disaster volunteers — but it lacks a single, integrated Search and Rescue (SAR) service linked structurally with modern fire and emergency response systems, as seen in developed and disaster‑resilient nations. This gap is no longer merely administrative. It is operational, life‑threatening, and economically costly.
Climate Change and the New Risk Landscape
Sri Lanka is among the countries most vulnerable to climate‑induced disasters. Erratic monsoons, short‑burst extreme rainfall, rising sea levels, and unpredictable weather patterns have transformed traditional hazard cycles. Flooding in the Kelani, Kalu, and Mahaweli basins now occurs with unprecedented frequency. Landslides in districts such as Badulla, Kegalle, and Nuwara Eliya have intensified, while coastal erosion and maritime emergencies have risen sharply.
In this environment, disaster response can no longer be reactive or fragmented. Minutes matter. Coordination saves lives. Preparedness determines survival.
Yet Sri Lanka’s current response architecture remains dispersed across multiple agencies, often operating under parallel command structures, with fire services largely municipal, under‑resourced, and disconnected from national SAR planning.
Fragmentation: Sri Lanka’s Core Weakness
At present, Sri Lanka’s disaster response involves the Navy, Air Force, Army, Police, Coast Guard, local fire brigades, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), and ad hoc civil‑military coordination platforms such as A‑PAD SL. While this ecosystem has delivered heroic outcomes during crises, it relies heavily on improvisation rather than institutional design.
Fire services, in particular, remain siloed within municipal councils, lacking standardized training, equipment, and integration with national rescue operations. In floods, landslides, building collapses, or industrial fires, this fragmentation delays unified command, stretches communications, and increases risk to both victims and responders.
Learning from Global Best Practice
Japan: Preparedness as National Culture
Japan is widely regarded as a global leader in integrated SAR and fire‑emergency management. Facing constant threats from earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons, Japan has institutionalized preparedness at every level of society.
Its system emphasizes:
Advanced early‑warning and communication systems, including mobile emergency alert platforms.
Seamless integration between fire services, medical responders, police, and SAR units.
Continuous simulation‑based training and public disaster education.
For Sri Lanka, Japan’s model is particularly relevant. Like Japan, Sri Lanka is an island nation with dense coastal populations and limited evacuation windows. The Japanese lesson is clear: SAR capability must be built before disaster strikes, not assembled afterward.
United States: Structured Coordination at Scale
The United States operates one of the world’s most complex SAR systems, coordinating thousands of responders across federal, state, local, and volunteer levels. The key strength lies not in centralization alone, but in process discipline.
US SAR doctrine follows five clear operational stages: Awareness, Initial Actions, Planning, Operations, and Conclusions. This structured approach allows diverse actors — from Coast Guard helicopters to county fire departments and volunteer mountain rescue teams — to function as a single operational organism.
Sri Lanka, which already deploys multiple agencies during disasters, would benefit immensely from adopting such a standardized SAR operational doctrine.
United Kingdom: Professionals and Volunteers Together
The UK offers a balanced model combining state capacity with strong volunteer institutions. Maritime SAR is coordinated by the Coast Guard, with helicopter support and professional oversight, while coastal rescues are largely conducted by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a highly professional volunteer organization.
This blended approach demonstrates that community participation does not weaken professionalism — it enhances reach and resilience. For Sri Lanka, where local knowledge often determines success during floods and landslides, this lesson is vital.
Indonesia: One National Authority
Indonesia’s Basarnas provides a compelling regional example. Operating at a ministry‑equivalent level with direct presidential responsibility, Basarnas oversees both maritime and land SAR across a vast archipelago.
Its authority enables rapid inter‑agency coordination, dedicated funding, and clear command during crises. Sri Lanka, though smaller in scale, faces similar maritime and land‑based risks. A centralized national SAR authority would eliminate duplication and command confusion.
UAE: Specialisation and Precision
Sri Lanka has previously acknowledged the effectiveness of UAE SAR teams during international disaster responses. Their strengths lie in advanced equipment, specialized training, and precision operations in complex environments such as collapsed buildings and industrial zones.
This underscores the need for elite, well‑equipped specialist SAR units alongside general responders — a capability Sri Lanka currently lacks at scale.
Why SAR Must Be Integrated with Fire Services
In most developed countries, fire services are not merely fire‑fighting entities. They are the backbone of urban search and rescue, technical rescue, hazardous materials response, and disaster medical coordination.
Firefighters are often the first to arrive at:
Building collapses
Road traffic disasters
Flooded urban neighbourhoods
Industrial and port emergencies
Separating SAR from fire services creates artificial barriers in emergencies where fire, rescue, and medical response overlap. Sri Lanka’s future resilience depends on transforming fire services into multi‑hazard emergency response units.
Building Sri Lanka’s Integrated SAR–Fire Model
A National Legal Framework
Sri Lanka urgently requires dedicated national legislation for Search and Rescue. Such a law should clearly define mandates, command authority, and coordination mechanisms across all agencies.
Ratifying the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue would align Sri Lanka with global standards, enhance regional cooperation, and facilitate rapid international assistance when required.
Centralised Command and Control
A single integrated command structure — potentially through a strengthened Disaster Management Centre or an expanded Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre — must be institutionalized to manage both land and maritime SAR.
This body should possess real‑time situational awareness, authority to task assets, and a unified communications network linking all responders, including fire services.
Modern Assets and Technology
Technology is now a force multiplier. Sri Lanka must invest in:
UAVs and drones for rapid reconnaissance
Infrared and thermal imaging for night and debris rescue
Resilient communication systems for disaster‑hit areas
Modern rescue vessels and rotary‑wing aircraft
Such assets dramatically reduce response times and responder risk.
Training and Capacity Building
Multi‑agency training must move beyond ad hoc drills. Simulation‑based programs aligned with International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) standards should become routine.
Firefighters, military personnel, police, and medical responders must train together — not meet for the first time at disaster sites.
Civil–Military Cooperation
Sri Lanka has already demonstrated success through civil‑military collaboration platforms such as A‑PAD SL. These efforts should be formalized, institutionalized, and expanded.
The Armed Forces bring logistics, engineering, and aviation strength. Civil responders bring community access and local knowledge. Together, they form a resilient response ecosystem.
Regional Cooperation
Disasters do not respect borders. Sri Lanka should deepen SAR cooperation with India, the Maldives, Indonesia, and Australia through joint exercises, shared protocols, and real‑time information exchange.
Such partnerships enhance readiness and ensure mutual support during large‑scale emergencies.
NPP Governance and Public Safety Reform: From Ad Hoc Response to Systemic Protection
Under the National People’s Power (NPP) administration, public safety is increasingly being reframed as a core governance obligation rather than an afterthought delegated to emergency improvisation. The proposal for an integrated Search and Rescue (SAR) service linked with modern fire services aligns directly with the NPP’s broader reform agenda: institutional rationalisation, accountability, and people-centred security.
Unlike previous administrations that treated disaster response largely as a military contingency or municipal responsibility, the NPP’s governance philosophy recognises disasters as predictable risks requiring permanent civilian institutions. Floods, landslides, industrial fires, maritime accidents, and urban collapses are not “acts of fate” but recurring governance challenges demanding structural solutions.
An integrated SAR–Fire service therefore represents not expansion of the state for its own sake, but consolidation — reducing duplication, clarifying authority, and ensuring that public funds translate into measurable life-saving capacity.
Public Safety as a Reform Pillar
For the NPP, public safety reform sits alongside anti-corruption, economic stabilisation, and administrative efficiency. A nationally legislated SAR framework would demonstrate the government’s commitment to protecting ordinary citizens — particularly the rural poor, estate comm