Special
Operations Division Overview
The Special
Operations Division was established 4 years ago. This division
has three separate elements: Technical Rescue Team (TRT), Dive-Rescue,
and Hazardous Materials. The purpose of this division was to provide
training and capabilities that are unavailable in the immediate
response area. The areas of focus for the Technical Rescue
Team include, Trench Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, Rope Rescue,
Structural Collapse Rescue, and Vehicle Extrication. The specialties
of the Dive Team include, but not limited to: Surface Water Rescue,
Underwater Search, Rescue, and Recovery, Cold water and Ice Rescue,
Evidence and Weapon Recovery. The Hazardous Materials Team, which
is countywide unit, specializes in Recognition, Rescue, Confinement,
Mitigation, and Decontamination. The Special Operations Division
is currently going through all of the state requirements to become
a Level II USA&R Team.
Team
Members
The Special
Operations Division consists of twenty-eight members. Fifteen
of the members are strictly volunteer firefighters and thirteen
are career firefighters. There are eleven paramedics and
ten EMT’s amongst this group. The team itself chooses
new members. Typically these members are some of the more
self-motivated members of the department. Minimum requirements
for a new team member to be considered are: Minimum 1 year
of experience and successful completion of probationary year and
Firefighter I and II. Potential candidates are encouraged
to attend our regularly scheduled monthly trainings and assist
to the level that they are able to. This is done to gauge
the sincerity and dedication required to complete the required
training.
Training
Technical
Rescue Team:
All training is consistent with NFPA and OSHA guidelines. Team
members must complete initial certification courses in each discipline. Additional
regular scheduled monthly trainings are held the 1st Saturday
of each month. To date the TRT team has participated in approximately
160 hours of initial certification training and approximately
90 hours of ongoing training. This is above and beyond the
regular firefighting training. Included is a chart of certifications
that have been achieved. One very important aspect of training
is the ability to bring in outside instructors to monitor progress
and correct any potential problems. This is normally done
twice annually. One 8-hour refresher class on ropes, knots,
and confined space. One 8-hour skills assessment on Trench
rescue as required by NFPA for a technician level team.
Dive
Team:
The Dive Team Element consists of six members from the fire department,
with three being Paramedics and the remaining four are Emergency
Medical Technicians. All members are certified in the following
disciplines: Open Water, ERD-I, ERD-II (optional), River Diver,
Night Diver, Limited Visibility Diver, CPROX, Underwater Search
& Recovery, Dry Suite Diver, and Ice Diver. Some of the members
of the Dive Team are also assigned as Sheriff Deputies with the
Lake County Sheriff's Department Marine Unit based at Pastrick
Marina in East Chicago. The goal of each diver is to become a
Dive Master. This team trains every month with Lakes of the Four
Seasons Fire Force Dive Team. In the four years that this team
has been active, the Dive Teams has logged more than 4,000 hours
of training plus numerous real-world rescues. The CPFR Dive Team
has a mutual aid agreement with all the communities in Lake and
Porter Counties. This team has been involved with rescues in Crown
Point, surrounding communities, as well as Lake Michigan.
Hazardous
Materials Team:
The Hazardous Materials Team consists of eight Technician Level
personnel and supported by forty-two operations level personnel.
Every firefighter is trained at the operations level in order
to support the technicians. Our Hazardous Materials Team is part
of a larger, countywide team that is coordinated through the Lake
County Fire Chief's Association. This teams responsibilities include,
but not limited to: Investigation, Rescue, Confinement, Mitigation,
and Decontamination. The haz-mat team is crucial with all of the
industry, interstates, refineries, and mills in the region.
Equipment
Our equipment
consists of three trailers and one dive truck. Each trailer
and dive truck is designed to quickly and efficiently deliver
and deploy the specialized equipment and the personal gear of
each member to the scene of the emergency. Special Operations
Trailer # 1 is a 30' road master that carries equipment for trench
rescue, confined space rescue, high & low angle rope rescue,
and structural collapse. Special Operations Trailer # 2 is a support
trailer and carries lumber and pre-built devices for Trailer #
1. Special Operations Trailer # 3 is the Hazardous Materials Team
Trailer and carries all their equipment that can be rapidly deployed.
Finally, the Dive truck is a retrofitted delivery truck donated
by Federal-Express. This truck has six sets of dive gear, cold
water/ice gear, and ropes. All of this gear is organized for rapid
deployment in rescue situations. A diver can be fully dressed,
while enroute to a call, in less than four minutes. Bottom line,
time saves lives! None of this would be possible without the help
of the Crown Point Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., and Eldon
Stong- Center Township Trustee. They have donated much of the
money used to purchase the very expensive equipment that it takes
to keep these teams operational and safe.
Conclusion
The
development of this division over the past few years has been
exceptional. The team members are very motivated, dedicated
and close knit. The skills and equipment of this team are unmatched
by any department in this area. The amount of development
and construction in the area has lead to an increase in the potential
of trench collapses. The Structural Collapse capabilities
the teams possess may be invaluable in the event a natural disaster
example: tornado. There are many existing confined space
areas from lift stations to industrial locations throughout the
city. With sixty-four bodies of water inside the City of Crown
Point, the possibility for water emergencies is at the highest
it has ever been. Increasing industry and the threat of terrorism
in our area makes the Hazardous Materials Team a necessity. The
Crown Point Fire-Rescue along with the Crown Point Volunteer Fire
Department, Inc. has tried to form the capabilities of the team
to the specific needs of the city of Crown Point. If you have
any questions or would like more information, contact Division
Chief Tim Tully @ 219.662.3248 or Email. |
