About Us

The Central Appalachian Cave Rescue Team is being developed as an on-call, well organized, trained, and equipped organization which will be dispatched in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM). We are not yet operational.

"Central Appalachia" is comprised of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina contains well over seven thousand (7000) caves, and a population of 41,507,932 as of 2023 with a total square mileage of 181,773

The longest cave in our area is The Great Savannah Cave system, which is the 6th longest cave in the US at 51.27 miles and Friars Hole Cave System the 7th longest cave in the US at 50.51 miles long. Many of these are “open” caves on private land. "Central Appalachia" has approximately three cave rescues per year and in one 6-week period in Summer 2023 had five cave rescues.  One of these involved a fractured femur, and another involved a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and major lacerations. Both required technical, vertical (rope haul systems) skills and equipment as well as some widening of small cave passages.


Fire departments, sheriff’s offices, police departments and 9-1-1 dispatched resources are not usually familiar with caves, or cave rescue techniques and almost always call cavers to handle the rescue. We have a membership of over 35 cavers who are willing to respond to cave rescues in the region, all of them are cave rescue trained. We are working to expand this number to  over 50 by the end of the year. We have medical doctors, registered nurses, paramedics, and fire-rescue personnel amongst our volunteers.

In beginning this mission, we have already obtained a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service. We have secured cooperation and enthusiasm from VDEM. We also have very good relationships with many of our 9-1-1 centers, and other emergency services groups.