Some search and rescue teams in British Columbia have stopped operating and others are looking at packing it in over concerns they may not have insurance against being sued.

Golden and District Search and Rescue has told provincial authorities it is suspending service after a Quebec skier named it in a lawsuit last month.

Gilles Blackburn is seeking damages from the Golden search and rescue team, as well as the RCMP and Kicking Horse Resort, after he and his wife spent nine days lost in the wilderness. He claims the three organizations didn't do enough to save him and his wife, who later died.

Search and rescue teams in Cranbrook and Fernie are considering shutting down and spokesmen for the teams in Kamloops and Kimberley also expressed worry.

Brad Russell, president of Kamloops Search and Rescue, said the province isn't doing enough to keep search and rescue teams informed of what coverage they have and what they need.

"They don't want to lose their houses, families, all the things that they've worked for because of some litigation against a volunteer organization."

Chris Duffy, acting executive director of the Provincial Emergency Program, confirmed Monday that the Golden search and rescue team has gone offline.

"They have said that they have concerns with liability coverage directly related to being served with this lawsuit," Duffy said in an interview. The Golden team has also withdrawn all of its rescue equipment.

Duffy said it's the first time a British Columbia volunteer search and rescue team has been hit with such a lawsuit and that realization has forced all teams to reexamine their insurance policies.

"There's a lot of concern over this and a lot of focus on it because it is a first and we want to explore what the gaps and risks are out of this and inform the wider search and rescue community to make sure that everyone has the coverages that they need."

Duffy said the province covers volunteers for liability, but the search and rescue societies are responsible for getting their own coverage because they are separate legal entities.

Blackburn and Marie-Josee Fortin, 44, were skiing from the top of a lift within the Kicking Horse Resort when they became lost on Feb. 15.

Blackburn claims that between Feb. 17 and 21, all three organizations were informed of SOS signals he stamped into the snow in the mountains near Golden, 700 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, but a search was not launched.

Fortin, died of hypothermia seven days into the ordeal.

Duffy said it's his understanding that the Golden team has the required insurance coverage.

A spokesman for Golden and District Search and Rescue was unavailable for comment.

Golden's decision to stop services prompted Kimberley search and rescue to shut their operations down for almost a week.

Peter Reid, president of the Kimberley team, said the volunteers resumed service Monday after getting clarification on its insurance policy.

"What's happening in Golden really caused a lot of concern for the board," he said.

"If insurance doesn't cover us fully, can they go after us personally? We were not aware that you could sue the society."

He called the lawsuit filed against the Golden team "frustrating."

"We are all volunteers, doing this on our own time. It should not be happening."

In Fernie, the search and rescue society's board and directors have resigned.

"They did resign, but we are not shut down from an operational point of view," said Neil McDermid, Fernie search manager.

McDermid said individual members of the Fernie team are still able to participate in searches.

In Cranbrook, the search and rescue team's executive council has voted to cease operations and the team has stopped serving areas outside the city district. A membership vote on the issue has yet to take place.

Russell, president of Kamloops Search and Rescue, said volunteers throughout the province just want to know they're not on their own in case a lawsuit is filed.

"We're going to make sure that down the road, once this litigation does set precedence, we're adequately covered," he said.

"The bigger question is how do you adequately cover for a liability you don't ever see coming? You can't plan for every single eventuality."

Russell said the Kamloops team is not yet ready to step down, though it is monitoring the situation in Golden.