Gao Bo doesn’t necessarily look like the movie version of a hero — he’s not very tall or muscular, and he wouldn’t necessarily stand out in a crowd.

But Gao, 33, of Shanghai, is a former special forces soldier known as zhan lang or Beowulf (literally “battle wolf” in Chinese), known to many hikers in the area as captain of the Shanghai Urban Search and Rescue Team.

He and 30 members of the search team are heroes to those caught in a disaster or who have become lost in the wilderness, and to their families.

Shanghai Daily recently talked to Gao as the team, a non-governmental organization, obtained a license as a nonprofit group from the local civil affairs authorities nearly six years after they first started it.

Gao said his interest in search and rescue came from his mother, who participated in the medical rescue during the massive Tangshan earthquake in 1976. She also was working in a designated hospital when SARS hit the country in 2003.

“My mother exerted great influence on me,” he said. “And now she and my father are very supportive of me and SHUSAR. Many friends, and my company as well, have given me great support.” Gao is a manager at a retail company, the Shanghai Friendship Group Inc.

Gao said he knows rescue work can involve tragedy.

Learning to help themselves

In 2009, four Shanghai hikers were swept away in a river in Luxi Valley, Zhejiang Province. Shortly afterwards, the bodies of three hikers were found, but the last hiker didn’t appear for almost a week. Gao, who happened to be hiking in nearby areas, went to help with the rescue. He spent two days in the water trying to find the last hiker.

“The victim’s family still had hope that he may have managed to climb out of the river, but actually from seeing the lay of the land alone I knew that there was nearly zero possibility of survival,” he said. “Finally we found that the body was trapped between two rocks and that’s why it didn’t emerge soon like the other three. It’s an absolute tragedy.”

But even though the job can be tough, he said having a volunteer team is very important.

“The city needs such a team,” said Gao. “Our role is to assist the government’s rescue effort when it comes to disasters, but more important, we need to help people develop a sense of how to help themselves. I believe everyone can be, and needs to be their own hero.”

The team has helped with relief measures during several natural disasters in recent years. Last year, when a massive flood hit Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, SHUSAR went to the city to distribute food and other daily necessities to victims after the city was paralyzed.

“When we arrived there, we found that many residents had to gather in higher stories of the buildings as the first and second floors had been flooded,” he said. “Many hadn’t eaten for one or two days as the traffic had been completely cut off by water.”

The team was formed after the massive earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2008. As a volunteer rescuer, Gao was sent to Hong Kong for training by the government. Even though Gao was ready to go to the disaster scene, he wasn’t needed at the time. However, the experience inspired him.

“Hong Kong has developed mature volunteer rescue teams and the citizens there have a very good sense and lots of knowledge about what to do and how to do when it comes to emergencies,” he said. “We, however, still have a long way to go, as volunteers and as citizens.”

The Shanghai team members bring different kinds of expertise from their lives — among them are retired armed police, retired firefighters, medical workers, explorers, drivers and vehicle enthusiasts.

Gao, however, believes the volunteers, especially non-professional ones, should not get in the way of government rescuers, such as fire brigades and military troops. What they should do is assist as needed.

“For example, after an earthquake occurs, sometimes rescuers need to go into the disaster zone on foot,” he said. “After they complete the task and come out, their helmets might be dented from being hit by falling stones. How can we expect amateurs to rush into such dangerous areas?”

Prompt reaction good model

Gao said they “don’t advocate self-sacrifice during rescues,” adding that rescuers should “help others while making sure they themselves are safe.”

Coordination with governmental rescue teams and providing them information is crucial, he said. That’s where SHUSAR has been helpful for the past few years.

“The territorial principle is a must-follow rule when it comes to search and rescue,” Gao said, meaning those nearest should lead rescues. “If Shanghai hikers are lost in rural areas in Sichuan, it would be too late if we were to fly to Sichuan to take action.”

But the organization’s prompt reaction has shown how to save time and lives in some recent cases. In 2011, 14 hikers went missing in the Siguniang Mountain area in Sichuan Province.

Gao was one of the earliest to receive the information because a family member of a missing hiker turned to him for help. He told the family to get all certificates, such as identity cards and residence booklets, and to go to Sichuan to report the case to the police.

“Usually missing person cases are filed only after a person has been out of contact for 48 hours, but if you report a case earlier, you’ll receive a document acknowledging the report anyway,” said Gao. “With the document, the family went to Sichuan local rescue teams, which immediately started preparation for a search. So they could hit the road as soon as the police started an investigation.”

The hikers made their way out of the mountains days later.

SHUSAR also gives lectures and demonstration on survival skills and knowledge at schools, colleges and communities. They have about 150 volunteers for that and Gao wants more.

“Such knowledge is very useful. Say when an elevator mishap occurs, what should you do if you are stuck inside, and what you should do if you want to help the trapped people?” Gao said.

He said he wants the team to be more active in promoting “self-rescue, helping each other, disaster prevention, reduction and relief.”

Gao said he is grateful for having been in the military, which gave him experience, courage and willpower.

“My family had some military background, so I had always wanted to join the army when I was a child,” said Gao. “But unfortunately the cutoff for military school was too high. I flunked, so I went to Tongji University instead, to go to law school.”

In his sophomore year, however, recruiters reignited Gao’s passion. He was qualified to be one of seven special forces candidates in Shanghai that year and joined the field army in the Nanjing Military Region. For about a year, they trained in mountains or on the sea. He also participated in flood relief and fighting forest fires.

“My army life was very colorful. I seemed to have done all a soldier could have done except combat,” he said. “But we did have several live ammunition exercises.”

After the army, Gao started hiking, and he would come to others’ rescue when nearby hikers had trouble.