| Earlier today, Assistant Chief Capps worked with staff from the North Carolina Association of Rescue and EMS (NCAREMS) to evaluate our department's training, equipment and personnel. The results of those evaluations resulted in us being certified in Heavy Rescue, Farm Machinery Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, Swift Water Rescue, Surface Water Rescue, Trench Rescue, Medical First Response, and Structural Collapse Rescue.
The association created their standards to guide agencies across the state on what might be needed for each rescue specialty. The standards include training and equipment requirements that an agency must meet in order to be deemed certified for a specific service.
Throughout our state there are a few independent rescue squads still remaining but as demands increase and funding decreases, many rescue squads are struggling to continue their missions. With the absence of these specialized units, other emergency service departments are having to take on more services. It wasn't too many years ago that most fire departments only responded to fires, now they respond to medical emergencies, specialized rescue situations, hazardous materials releases and occasionally they still go to fires.
We jokingly say "there's no 912, only 911" implying that as the first arriving emergency responders we must be trained and prepared for whatever we find. Meeting the NCAREMS standards are one of the steps we take to make sure we respond efficiently and effectively to everything we are dispatched to with the knowldege, skills and abilities to make the situation better.
If you'd like to learn more about the department and what we do, give us a call, send us an email or stop by the main station. |
