HOW THE TRT EVOLVED

There are no charges for any of our services. We are supported solely by donations from citizens and organizations in the area and we spend a great deal of time in fund raising efforts every year.

In the Spring of 1993, The Captain of the Rescue Squad asked the Rescue Lieutenant, (Pete Davidson), to provide an assessment of the squad's capability in high-angle rescue. Up until that point, rope rescues were very seldom done due to the lack of qualified personnel and proper equipment. The rescues that were done were usually done as a last resort, were done haphazardly, and exposed our members to unacceptable risks. The Captain was concerned about the liability of advertising the agency as a rescue squad and wanted to know if CARS could perform unusual rescues safely.

Lt. Davidson looked at several areas and asked the following questions:

• What equipment do we now have? Is it safe to use?
• How many CARS members have rescue training?
• Who else is capable of performing rescues in our area?
• What equipment do they have?
• What areas of specialized rescue do we want to get into?
• How will we get our members trained?
• Where will we get funding?
• What will we call this team?
• Is there a need for a technical rescue team in the area/region?

We felt this assessment did a lot of good. Pete found that we had little equipment, most of which was not rescue rated. Only a couple of our members had formal certification in rope rescue and fewer had certification in confined space and collapse rescue. No one else in our region had a specialized rescue capability so it was felt that we had to do it all, (since we called ourselves a "RESCUE SQUAD"). When someone has a rescue emergency, they call the rescue squad. Pete didn't want to make the front page of the local papers when one of our members got hurt or worse. CARS was expected to be capable of performing any type of rescue that was called for, it was up to him to make sure it was done right.

Pete felt that a specialized rescue team needed to be formed. A meeting was held with interested members of our organization and asked for input on how this team should be run. We also invited other fire/rescue organizations to send anyone interested to join our squad as an associate member. They would not have to run ambulance calls or a specific duty, but would have to keep up with the required team training and respond to calls when paged. We called this team the "Technical Rescue Team" or simply "TRT". The TRT would be responsible for handling the following types of specialized rescue:

Anything related to Water Rescue would be handled by the CARS Dive Rescue Team. Vehicle Rescue would continue to be handled by CARS members who had the proper certifications.

We, (the team), took the results of the assessment and presented the facts to the Squad's Board of Directors for funding consideration. After some debate, it was decided that the team was a good idea and that $3,500 would be given to the team as seed money.

The area that we felt needed to most immediate attention was rope rescue. We looked back over the years and found that of the different types of unusual rescues we had performed, use of ropes was almost always included. A local vendor was contacted and after some negotiation, he agreed to sell us whatever equipment we needed at cost, a significant savings for us. Ropes, carabineers, rappelling seats, & helmets were purchased. We wanted to buy enough equipment so that we could outfit 6 rescuers to perform a simple rope rescue safely. As it was, we were able to buy enough equipment that we could not only outfit 6 rescuers safely, we could perform most types of rope rescues with a margin of safety. CARS members started to take Rope Rescue I and II classes through the State's Department of Fire Programs. These classes were cheap, (only $5.00), and were taught by instructors who were known throughout the country. Early on, team members decided that they would pay for their own training as much as possible.

Once the team started to come together, the first order of business was to decide a name. Technical Rescue Team (TRT) was chosen because of the types of rescues to be performed, they were "technical" in nature. ("Tactical" was tossed out as a name because the police had a Tactical response team for police related emergencies.) Several large departments with well known technical rescue teams, (Virginia Beach, VA., Fairfax County, VA., Phoenix, AZ., Montgomery County, MD.) were asked if they would send along copies of their SOP's and equipment lists. From these, we drew our own SOP's and lists of equipment required. After looking at all the training classes that were taught in Virginia, it was felt that over 400 hours of specialized training and certifications would be required to be a team member.

The original team started with 25 members, and even though we have suspended several members for failing to participate in training, our team has not decreased in size to this day. A training database was started that showed who had what certifications. Many people felt that each member should not have to do all the required training, but instead be allowed to specialize in one certain area. We felt that this was a very bad idea. What would happen if a call came in for a confined space rescue and only rope rescue guys showed up? Even though the team is all-volunteer, everyone is required to be proficient in every area that we specialize in. This has caused some members to leave the team, but other, more enthusiastic members have taken their place. Some people questioned why should you have to be an EMT? Our feeling was that you should know how to take care of injuries since only certified personnel would be allowed to take part in the rescue. (This caused some outsiders to back out of joining, but that was okay.) The team is not limited to 25 members. Rather, we will take on as many people who want to join and participate in the required training. Turnover leaves us with the team hovering around 25 members which we feel is a bare minimum. Since most TRT related calls occur when our staffing is the lowest, (M-F, 9-5), the use of allied fire/rescue personnel is essential. Our team philosophy dictates that we not show up to a call and take over. Rather, we prefer to arrive and be integrated into the existing incident command structure and be used as the incident commander sees fit. The people we have show up take key positions that best utilizes their training while other fire/rescue personnel fill in where needed. This integration was key to getting rid of the feeling that we would take everything over as soon as we arrived. Now, we enjoy a close working relationship with all regional fire/rescue departments and they call for us when needed.

As equipment was acquired, it was set up to be as intuitive as possible. For example, the original 6 sets of helmets and harnesses were placed in 6 bags which were then called "personal packs". Each personal pack was set up to include all the equipment that a single rescuer would need for high-angle incidents. This is so that should a team member show up to an incident with no equipment, all he/she would have to do would be to grab a personal pack and use the gear inside. (This would also go for members attending training classes).

Each personal pack contains the following:

Each bag is marked 1 through 6 with 1 & 2 containing extra large sizes, 3 & 4 containing large sizes, and 5 & 6 containing medium sizes. Attached to each bag is an inventory list, while each individual item is clearly marked with our name and the bag it belongs to. A complete inventory is taken every six months of all TRT equipment. Any CARS member can check out a personal pack for use in a certification class. The old equipment that existed before the upgrade was taken out of service and placed in a location where any member may use it for recreational purposes. This concept followed what the Charlottesville Fire Department already had in place, (in other words it was their idea). Now, regardless of who shows up or which truck arrives first, both CFD career personnel and CARS TRT personnel know where the equipment is located and what bag contains what. This certainly is a big help having all local rope rescue equipment set up the same way.

As far as rope goes, we dumped all the existing rope in the squad inventory since we were not sure of its integrity. Using NFPA 1983 was a big help when it came to securing funds. When someone would ask, "Why do you need new rope, what is wrong with what you have?" all we would do is point to the standard and start talking liability. We initially purchased 2 - 300' sections of 5/8" and 4 - 200' sections of 1/2". While doing research into equipment, we found that the size of the rope used was dependent of the department using it. For example, Fairfax County Fire & Rescue uses 1/2" rope for everything, while the Charlottesville Fire Department uses only 5/8". The people that use rope the most (cavers and climbers) swear by 7/16" for any use. In the end, it was decided that 5/8" would be used for high-line systems and 1/2" would be used for everything else. The only thing we suggest is that you purchase a reel (600') of 5/8" rope for high-line use. The 300' sections we bought are to short to be practical. All our rope is bagged and kept in a compartment on the truck that is dedicated for its use. Every other month the team goes through and pulls the rope out and inspects it. Keeping a log of every rope you have is a must. One good idea we can pass along is that you mark each rope as to its number and length. The system we us is very simple and easy to understand. We take electric wire numbers, (available in any hardware store or electrical supply house), and mark the end of the rope with a 4 digit number like this: 3011. The first 2 digits indicates the length of rope in 10's of feet and the 2nd 2 digits indicates the number of that rope. Rope 3011 is 300' feet long and is #11, while rope number 0345 is 30' long and is #45. The numbers are then coated with whip-end dip in order to seal them on the rope.

We had several strokes of good luck when it came to vehicle acquisition. All of the rope gear would be carried on our heavy rescue truck, but there was no room for the rest of the equipment we would be carrying. Funding for a new, large rescue truck was out of the question and we had no idea what we were going to do. The squad President, Robert Jaskiewicz came to our rescue. "Bob Jack" has an extensive background in designing and acquiring rescue vehicles for the squad and was instrumental in designing Squad 133, our heavy rescue truck. Bob Jack knew that a nearby squad had just purchased a replacement squad truck, and their old vehicle was awaiting disposal. Bob Jack approached the squad and offered to trade a set of airbags for the truck. The other squad agreed and we had a rescue truck! The trailer, which carries all of our collapse rescue gear was already in our inventory as a mass casualty incident unit. Since the trailer was more than required, Bob Jack convinced CARS to purchase a smaller trailer to replace it and gave us the larger trailer for modification. All this came as a small cost to the squad considering what we got, and none of the money required came out of the TRT budget.

The truck we got wasn't exactly in the best shape. It was a 1987 Chevrolet C-60 that was previously owned by Virginia Power company was used as a line truck. Team members Landon Harris, Ty Hoeffer, William Spencer, Justin Mahlmann and Wayne Perry started work on the vehicle by gutting its interior and repairing the rust spots that set in. Landon Harris, our equivalent of Radar O'Reily, got a new paint job and rear doors added for no cost! A new 10Kw diesel generator and fuel tank were purchased and installed. Brackets were added and compartments reworked. Similar work was done to the trailer. Now, all confined space rescue gear is carried by Support 143, while the 20' trailer carries all the collapse gear such as shoring panels, every size airshore, a generator, a trash pump, assorted tools and miscellaneous equipment. We developed a concept where the trailer is hauled to the collapse site and dropped off while the truck moves off 100' and is connected to the trailer by an umbilical cord in order to keep the noise of the diesel generator away. The trailer has electrical junction boxes on every corner and acts as an electrical manifold for operating power tools and lights.

We knew from the team's inception that calls would be few and far between. The problem we were faced with was how we could keep training up and our skills proficient if calls were rare. Several team members offered suggestions and we went with the ones that made the most sense. Now, our skills stay honed and everyone is participating frequently in team activities. What did we do?

To start with, a program of scheduled exercises was begun. We call these exercises "Field Training Exercises" (FTX's) and they are scheduled every 3 months. An FTX works like this: the team is told to show up at the squad building on a Saturday morning at 0800 and be prepared for anything. At 0800, the a leader will walk in and hand the first person he/she sees an envelop containing details for the exercise. The person with the envelop then becomes the incident commander and they are responsible to see that the appropriate equipment and personnel are dispatched to the FTX site. (Local fire/rescue units are asked to participate as well in order to maintain a close working relationship.) Everything is treated as being real, from having actual live trapped victims, site workers that have no idea what is going on, to the media showing up, to bystanders getting in the way, to OSHA inspectors coming on-site, to ambulance personnel being unfamiliar with our operations, etc. Before the FTX, only 2-3 people know as to what it will consist of and during the event they act as judges. After the FTX is completed, all participates gather immediately to critique the incident and offer suggestions on how to best handle a real emergency. Several days later, a report is issued to each team member outlining the problem, who was assigned to do what, how the problem was handled, problems that occurred, mistakes that were made, and finally recommendations in changes of procedures and SOP's. Past FTX's have involved such scenarios as a trench collapse with the victim being buried under a 3-ton pipe, a worker overcome by methane in a drainage tank and a worker severely injured and located on top of a 100' light pole. FTX's tend to be very enlightening. For example, the light pole rescue took several hours and depleted our entire inventory of rope rescue equipment. We modified our SOP's, reworked our procedures and bought additional rope equipment. The following month we were involved in a similar incident that required only 1/2 the number of people and was accomplished in under 1 hour! The only way you can tell if your SOP's are any good is to test them under actual conditions, and FTX's allow just that.

Another suggestion that we put to good use was our forming a competition team. Every Fall, the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads, (VAVRS), holds a State convention where squads from all over the State compete in such areas as heavy rescue, vertical rescue, and vehicle rescue. These competitions are tough and the teams competing are very good. All the evolutions involved are realistic and are judged on existing and known standards. The first year we competed in vertical rescue, we came in next to last. We knew going into that competition that it would be a learning experience and it sure was! We came home, modified our procedures and SOP's and the next year we won the State championship! Every year we compete, we learn a lot of very valuable information which usually means we change our procedures, (which is an on-going thing anyway). To prepare for a competition means lots of practicing and working on basic skills. It is not unusual for team members to take a whole Sunday just to work on one simple procedure. There is always lots of enthusiasm during these training sessions, and nothing else we can think of can bring this out in people. One of the things we invented because of competitions was the anchor pack. An anchor pack is a rope bag with pockets, (we use CMC xl rope & equipment bags), that contains enough stuff to set-up a raise/lower line with a safety back-up line. For rope related incidents, we usually send in a 2-person entry team each carrying a anchor pack on their back. Once on site, they radio back the best way to perform the rescue and request addition equipment and personnel. While the ground team is setting up, the entry team starts putting together the raise/lower system. This has drastically reduced our rescue times and was very instrumental in our winning the State Championship in 1994. The contents of an anchor pack are as follows:

The total weight of the bag is around 75 pounds, which of course isn't light. All our team members, (even the 120 lb. ones) are able to carry and use this pack. We suggest that you buy lightweight hardware where you are required to carry something like this into a accident scene.

It is also a good idea to weigh all of your equipment and keep a record of it close. Earlier this year, our team was deployed to a county north of us that was severely flooded and was requesting immediate rope rescue assistance. The local EMS helicopter was willing to fly our team, but they wanted to know the weight of our gear. There was a significant time delay as we tried to figure out how much everything weighed and what we needed to take.

In keeping with this "modular" concept of personal packs and anchor packs, we also put together other gear bags that were set up for specific tasks. This way, we could send for a specific bag knowing what was in it and we didn't have to pull all of our gear off the truck and sort through it and spend time putting things together. If someone was at the top of a building and needed edge protection, we had a bag already put together that contained everything they may need. All that had to be done would be to attach the bag to a tag line and haul it up. Each bag stands alone and contains all that is needed for whatever purpose it was intended for and has an inventory label attached that makes it easy to check what is supposed to be inside it. Some examples of the bags we set up and what they contain are as follows:

Mechanical Advantage Bag - designed to have a 3:1 or 4:1, (depending on which way the pulleys face), advantage system set-up and ready for immediate use. This bag contains the following:

Edge Protection Pack - contains all that is needed for adequate edge protection, (make sure you have a lot). This duffel bag contains carpet rolls, duct tape and commercial edge pads.

Rope Section Bag - contains 25 rope sections of lengths that very from 10' to 50' and sizes from 7/16" to 1/2".

Stokes Pack - which is carried on every stokes litter we have. Each bag contains a pre-assembled rig that attaches to the stokes quickly for raising/lower evolutions and has a rope for the attendant and a barf-line. Also carried in the bag is 1" webbing used to tie the patient in the stokes. It takes us about 30 seconds to attach this rig to a stokes and be ready for moving. While we used commercial rigs, it is cheaper and just as good to make up your own rig with existing rope and webbing.

The one thing that everyone asks about is where we get funding. After the initial seed money was given, we drew up a list of needed equipment that we update almost daily. Technical rescue equipment does not come cheap and we knew that a lot of money would have to be spent before we could even begin to think about performing some of the rescues we were training for.

In 1993, our team received $3,500 from the CARS Board of Directors. It didn't take long to spend that money on just rope rescue equipment. In the next budget year, we would have to have our own budget set up. This would require a lot of justification since we were new and there was no money allocated for technical rescue. The CARS Board of Directors is made up of eighteen past and present members of the squad and some were very skeptical about our team. We had to make everyone on the board a believer in us and give the support we needed. The first thing we did was to hold several training classes, (rope rescue, trench rescue, etc.), at the squad building and open up the classes for anyone to attend. During these classes, people who didn't think much about our team saw us working and using equipment that had recently been purchased. Some of our opponents were asked to join the classes and it wasn't long before we made supporters of them. Every time we had an actual incident, we made sure that the local media were heavily involved and got the pictures they needed. Our rescues usually made front page news, and it wasn't long before the local media started calling asking questions about our technical rescue team. We came up with our own logo and had colorful t-shirts made up that anyone could buy. We started holding team meetings at the squad building so other members would see us working. A monthly newsletter was started that talked about the latest events, upcoming classes, equipment purchases, dates of certification classes, information about team members, etc. The newsletter was sent out to all team members, as well as squad VIP's and outside agencies and was posted so that any squad member could keep up with our progress. At the end of the budget year, a annual report was published and given to every director on the Board. The report listed our past accomplishments, future goals, how money was spent, number of training hours and certifications obtained by team members, training classes held and equipment we didn't have but needed. Doing all of these things required a lot of work, but we were successful in getting included in the next yearly budget with $10,000 allocated to equipment purchases! We didn't stop there. We approached the BOD and asked that our group be allowed to seek funding from local contractors and utility groups. We needed someone who could approach businesses and get them to donate us equipment. David Hartman, a Career Fire Captain, local business entrepreneur and TRT member made all of the business contacts. David contacted local utilities like Virginia Power and Sprint/Centel telephone Company and arranged meetings with their executives. He took a copy of 29 CFR 1910.134, the standard for confined space rescue that requires everyone with a confined space problem to either have a rescue team in place our contract with one for rescues, and showed it to them. Most of these companies were aware of the standard and were in the process of looking into options and welcomed us. Virginia Power wound up building us a state-of-the-art confined space training facility on the grounds of their nuclear power plant at North Anna!

David also approached other potential sources of money. He found that Sam's Club had a program where non-profit groups could come in and sell food while soliciting donations. Sam's Club would then match whatever money was received. David also found out that few groups took advantage of this offer, and the one's that did would not offer Sam's Club much in return. The rescue squad asked Sam's if we could kick off our fund drive by putting on displays and selling hamburgers. Our members would do all the work required. Sam's was very skeptical until our entire technical rescue team showed up along with other members of the squad and set up multiple displays. We brought along all of our gear and set up a high-line for kids to ride. We even had a radio station come in and broadcast live while we "extricated" the DJ from a mock auto accident. By the end of the day, we brought in a substantial amount of money, got lots of good public relations and made a friend the Sam's Club corporation. Now, we have 2 events scheduled each year for the squad's fund raising program and each time we add more displays and get more attention from the public. David Hartman has been very instrumental in bringing the team out into the public view as well as the squad as a whole. Of course, the more attention we received from the public and the media, the easier it became to free up needed funding from the squad. Finally, our local Rotary Club just announced its plan to make the CARS TRT its annual recipient of money from a large fund raising effort. This alone brought in over $15,000 to our squad!

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad has been using the integrated incident management system since the early 1980's. We looked at the existing system that we and everyone else in the area use and we decided that some modification would be needed for our use. The CARS TRT organizational structure is very flat. That is one person who is the charge, (and operates in an administrative function only), while everyone else carries an equal rank. Early on we decided that the first TRT member on-scene would be in charge of team activities while we integrated into the existing command structure. This forcing people to take charge was good because they got needed experience that they may not otherwise have gotten and they learned a new perspective. One thing that we came up with that really helped was a incident commander's bag. The IC bag contained a book with squad SOPs related to technical rescues so all a person had to do was flip to the page that covered that particular rescue problem, and follow the SOP like a cookbook. Also in this manual is data related to the team such as equipment capabilities, weights, operating conditions, etc. In addition to carrying sector vests, (of different colors so you can tell from a distance what function a person is), we carry a voice-activated tape recorder. This VOX recorder is activated by the incident commander so that all conversations and decisions re recorded for future review. This has helped us immensely during incident reconstruction and critiques.

A typical technical rescue is usually quite involved and may last for hours. The key to success lies in what things have been done in the first few minutes after arrival of the first emergency units. Since a technical rescue team is never the first on the scene, we knew we had to somehow prevent first responders from making a bad situation worse. This was a problem we mulled over for quite some time until we came upon a solution that solved several problems at once. First, a technical rescue first responder manual was developed and placed on every emergency unit in our County. This manual consisted of only four pages and covered each of the areas we were responsible for. All a first responder had to do was flip to the page that corresponded to the type incident they were on, and everything they should do, (or not do), was described. (See appendix C for an example.) If the instructions were followed, then everything was set for the arrival of the TRT. The second thing we did was to put together a technical rescue awareness class. This class was modeled after the hazardous materials awareness class taught by the Virginia State Department of Fire Programs, (DFP), and covered such areas as the definition of a technical rescue, the different types of rescues, examples of each that we have run in the past, how dangerous they can be, (an example that got a lot of attention was the statistic that 60% of the people who die in confined spaces are rescuers!), what resources are available, (like the CARS TRT), what to do until the arrival of a technical rescue team, and medical aspects of technical rescues. We took this program, complete with a slide show we developed, and went to every fire and rescue organization in the region. We applied to the State EMS and received category II continuing education unit credit for the class. Just about every group we presented the class to had no idea about the dangers involved and had no idea we even existed. Even though the class was set up for one hour of instruction, many times discussions and questions would keep our people 2-3 times longer! Getting around to all the other fire/rescue groups was probably one of the smartest things we could have done. A project that we have just started and hope to implement sometime next year is the technical rescue medic. This course would teach our advanced life support personnel who to best manage patients we rescue since they tend to have unusual medical problems and also teaches awareness of the environment they will be working in, (such as confined spaces).

As soon as we started putting together our specialized rescue team, rescue calls started coming in that we were obligated to respond to. There was little in the way of guidelines for our team to operate as we were pretty much flying by the seat of our pants. One of our members came up with a novel idea, why not let someone outside the organization critique each incident. We knew we were making lots of mistakes and they were being corrected as we went along, but what about the kinds of mistakes that we had no idea we were making? The decision was made to document each call very thoroughly and then send all written information and pictures of the incident to someone we considered to be an authority. Mike Brown from the Virginia Beach Fire Department was asked if he would help us and he enthusiastically agreed. Mike is one of the foremost authorities on confined space rescue, is a well respected technical rescue instructor and is the head of the DFP's Heavy & Tactical Rescue Team. We knew that Mike would cut us no slack in telling us how we could do our rescues better and we started sending him all the information we gathered on every major incident we worked. Mike would review each incident and send us back a list of recommendations. We would take each idea and implement it into our existing SOP's and doctrine and in that way we became better by leaps and bounds. One on such incident, Mike chastised us for wearing civilian clothes during the rescue. (Since our guys are usually at work when these calls came in, they wore what they had on.) Mike suggested that every team member be issued a set of coveralls with our name on the back in big letters, (advertisement if we get in the paper), as well as gloves, helmet and work boots and carry everything in a duffel bag in our personal vehicle. We found this idea to be very useful as well as all the other ideas Mike has sent us. Mike became very instrumental in making our team a class act. One thing you may not want to do is overwhelm your advisor with every single call you run. Keep the incidents you want critiqued to the big ones you run only once or twice a year.

As we were building our team up both by training and acquiring equipment, we also went out and visited other technical rescue teams. We talked to their members about mistakes to avoid, where training classes were being offered, the best equipment to buy, etc. As we talked to these teams, we kept a database on their capabilities and contact people in case we needed a filed consultation. We looked at several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) task force teams and got lots of useful information from them. One program they had implemented which we liked and used was the idea of having technical information specialists, (TIS's). A TIS is a person who is not actually on the team, but is a information resource that can be used either for background information or consultation during a working incident. Our local telephone company was approached for getting a communications specialist and we got not only a communications engineer, but the commitment for 10 cellular phones, a hardwire PBX system with telephones and their engineer anytime we needed him! The head of Trauma Services, (Jeff Young, MD), at the University of Virginia Medical Center agreed to be a TIS and we setup a program where he would be brought to the scene of an extended extrication for medical direction as well as his skills. He also agreed to teach us classes on such unusual medical problems as compartment syndrome and dust inhalation during building collapses. Another TIS we found to be very useful was a local newspaper photographer, Matt Gentry. Matt was often on the scene of our incidents taking pictures and we thought that since he was always there, we might as well put him to work. We asked Matt to attend our training classes and we taught him where it was okay to be, and where it was not. We showed him what personal protective equipment he needed to have and where he could locate it on our vehicles. Now, when Matt shows up at an incident he not only takes pictures for his job and helps us with PR, he also takes pictures for documentation purposes which are included in the incident report. Another TIS we use is Jose Gomez, a structural engineer. We have Jose come in when we have a structural or trench collapse and he surveys the scene to tell us where it is safe and where it is unstable. Having TIS's participate in routine training classes is a must since they need to know your operational procedures and you need to know what they can do for you.

Another good thing to do is involve as many allied agencies as possible in your team training exercises. During a trench class we taught last year, we invited representatives from local law enforcement, the City Gas Department and the local State Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA), to attend the class. The City Gas Dept. already had a trench rescue program in place and once they saw our capability and commitment, decided to allow us to call them in for any trench rescues in our area as a manpower/equipment resource. Having law enforcement in the class was a big help during one of our incidents when a large crowd had gathered and we were having difficulty keeping them back. The police knew how important it was to give us a lot of room and they came in and kept everyone way back behind a barricade line and committed a lot of on-duty resources to assist us. They didn't interfere at all with our operation because they knew exactly what was needed and why. The local OSHA representative has learned to trust us because he knows how well we train and we often look to him for advise. Whenever we have a incident, we one of the first things we usually do is give him a call so he can begin his investigation early on. We turn over all documentation and copies of all photographs so he can complete his report quickly. From all this experience we have learned to work closely with as many groups as possible that are usually involved with our types of incidents and we share information with anyone.

If you haven't explored the use of computers, you are far behind the times. We are lucky to have several of our members, (Ty Hoeffer, Hunter Ware, William Spencer & Wayne Perry), that work as computer technicians and provide a valuable resource to our squad. During FTX Fall 95, the team was deployed to our CSR training mock-up at the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant in Louisa County when we received a call from a cave rescue site in Bath County, which is several hours away. The incident commander asked if we could send resources to assist in a rescue that had been on-going for several days and involved hundreds of rescuers. They were in dire need of ALS providers with rope experience and someone on the site had heard we had plenty of what they were looking for. We immediately sent to two members as an advance team to see what exactly we could do and what was needed. When the advance team arrived, they reported to the incident command bus, connected their lap top computer to a telephone line and started to receive a briefing by the IC. Since the rest of the team was still involved with the FTX and was no where near a phone, the advance team communicated updates to them through the computer to our alpha/numeric pagers, (they have state-wide reach and are invaluable to us for communication because of their reliability and ability to receive text messages). The team was ready to cut the FTX short when they were notified that the advance team was all we needed to send and that the incident was due to terminate in several hours. The database of equipment and resources was so valuable to the cave rescue IC that he held the advance team in the command bus for the rest of the incident and asked that we provide information on how they could set up such a information resource.

With the aid of Ty Hoeffer, we became one of the first rescue squads in the country to have a home page on the internet. Ty put in literally hundreds of hours of programming to have a web site that lists squad SOP's, annual reports on both the squad and the TRT, information on the technical rescue team like this report, equipment lists, incident reports of TRT calls, upcoming training classes, information on how to join our squad, etc. Now, when someone needs information on something we do, they can download what they need right off our web site. The internet has a vast amount of information on just about anything you can think of, and this information grows by leaps and bounds everyday. The address for the CARS homepage is http://www.mcc.virginia.edu/cars.

One major problem we have experienced which continues to this day is the that people outside the team have a feeling that we are "elite" and that the team thinks that it is too good. We brought this problem on ourselves by coming up with our own logo and t-shirts, receiving new equipment and flaunting it around, and constantly receiving attention from the media. This underlying feeling of many members is that they cannot join the team because we are a "good ole' boy club" and we won't let anyone else join. All of this is of course false. During very first organizational meeting we had someone asked just who was going to make up this new rescue team. The answer they got back was everyone present in the room was now a member of the team, and anyone else who wanted to become a member was welcome to do so. The team as a whole decided that there would be no maximum number of members and anyone who fit the prerequisites and wanted to join, could. We have been somewhat successful stopping most of the negative and false talk about us by inviting the people who were talking the most to join the team. Of course, no one did which leads us to believe that they were just jealous. Some CARS members wanted to become support members of our team, usually because they didn't want to go through all the training. It had been decided early on that any member of the team, (TIS's excluded), had to become proficient in all areas of technical rescue that we were responsible for. We were interested in people that could do it all, so that IC's wouldn't have to ask "Who here is capable of performing this rescue?". While this philosophy has angered some, we cling to it knowing that any CARS TRT member is just as good in one area as another.

One last piece of advise is to keep your team members active and involved as much as possible. We do this by scheduling FTX's frequently enough to keep interest, but not so much that people are burned out or lose interest because they cannot make each one. We hold team meetings every other month and we try to cover a different piece of equipment at each meeting. On thing we have found that works very well is a continuing education unit (CEU) program. Each month, a newsletter is sent out to each team member which covers upcoming classes, information about upcoming events, team information, etc. In this newsletter is a 10 question CEU article that covers a particular segment of technical rescue. The CEU program is designed to make each team member think about where equipment is located, what we can and cannot do, equipment capabilities, etc., and usually take about 1 hour to complete. The CEU program is voluntary, no one is penalized for not turning answers back in. For each answer sheet turned in, that member receives 1 training hour of credit which is kept on the training database. The only stipulation is that you cannot seek answers from another team member. Be innovative on keeping interest going. It is very easy to get the ball rolling, only to have your team die a year later because you didn't generate enough calls to keep the interest up.

The CARS TRT has been in existence for 2 years now and we certainly have come a long way. But we have a long way to go yet and we have found that evolving a technical rescue team not only requires a whole lot of work, it also demands commitment on the part of each team member. No one person could have done all the work required to get our team off the ground, each team member has played an integral part in getting the job done. One piece of advise we can give is that once you committed yourself to making up a team, you find someone who is enthusiastic and is a hard worker and give let them head up the project. Don't settle for time delays, set realistic goals and strive to meet them. If you run into people or organizations that keeping making promises and not following through, then find someone else to get the job done. Seek advise from others in the industry and listen to what they tell you. Get as many people as possible involved and keep everything open for inspection. Learn to take criticism and grow from it. Make up a set of SOP's and don't be afraid to modify them constantly. Work to keep politics out of your team as much as possible. Use the expertise you have in each team member to its fullest. (While looking at several CSR aircarts and wondering where we would get the money to buy such a needed piece of equipment, one of our team members, Ty Hoeffer, said he could probably build one that was just as good for a fraction of the cost. We took him up on that and 2 weeks later we had a fully functioning aircart that rivaled even the most expensive units on the market. Total cost?, less than $800!.) Have frequent meetings and listen to your people, they are your best and most precious resource.

     NAME       LEVEL   MEMBERSHIP STATUS          OTHER AFFILIATION

Kostas Aliberts	EMT-P	Associate-MEDICAL	Western Albemarle Rescue Squad 
Maneesh  Bawa	EMT-C	Active
Andrew Baxter	EMT-C	Active			Henrico County Fire Department 
Barbi Baxter	EMT-C	Active 
John Burruss	EMT-P	Active-Life		Charlottesville Fire Department 
Clinton Butts	EMT-ST	Active 
Landon Harris	EMT-C	Active			Chesterfield County Fire Dept. 
David Hartman	EMT-D	Associate-SUPPORT	Charlottesville Fire Department 
Dayton Haugh	EMT-C	Active-Life 
Brett Henyon	EMT-C	Active 
Ty Hoeffer	EMT-A	Active 
W.A. Hogsten	EMT-C	Associate-SUPPORT	Orange County Rescue Squad *
Mike Johnson	EMT-ST	Associate-SUPPORT	Scottsville Vol. Rescue Squad * 
Richard Jones	EMT-A	Associate-SUPPORT	Charlottesville Fire Department 
Tim Karr	EMT-ST	Associate-SUPPORT	Scottsville Vol. Rescue Squad *  
Brian Kester	EMT-A	Associate-SUPPORT	Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Dept. 
Todd Lucas	EMT-A	Associate-MEDICAL	Western Albemarle Rescue Squad 
Justin Mahlmann	EMT-C	Active			Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Dept.
Tom Mayhew	EMT-A	Associate-SUPPORT	Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Dept. 
John Oprandy	EMT-A	Associate-SUPPORT	Crozet Volunteer Fire Dept. *
Wayne Perry	EMT-ST	Active			Charlottesville Volunteer Fire Co.	        
Ron Powdrell	EMT-A	Associate-SUPPORT	Waynesboro First Aid Crew 
Ben Sojka	EMT-A	Active			Rockfish Valley Fire / Rescue Dept. 
Kelly Southard	EMT-C	Associate-SUPPORT	Orange County Rescue Squad 
William Spencer	EMT-ST	Active 
Hunter Ware	EMT-P	Active 

EMT-A = basic EMT
EMT-ST = shock-trauma level
EMT-C = cardiac
EMT-P = paramedic

Active members of the squad run a regular duty schedule and are considered full members of the squad. Associate members only participate in team functions, do not run a scheduled duty and are not eligible to vote in squad elections. They also cannot receive money for training classes even though they participate in fund raising activities.

CHARLOTTESVILLE-ALBEMARLE RESCUE SQUAD CHECKLIST FOR FIRST-IN AMBULANCE/SQUAD**

Definition: Any incident in which a patient is trapped, buried or experiencing a medical emergency in a trench or excavation whether the trench is protected or not.

On arrival, do the following:

• Assess the situation, is the TRT required?

• Immediately call EOC, give them a size-up and request dispatch of the technical rescue team.

• You will be sent the following:

• Set up a visible command area.. Emergency vehicles shall park 100 feet away from site.

• Prevent anyone from entering the trench.. Secure witness or competent person.

• Start a documentation sheet, write everything you do down with the time you did it.

• Set up a perimeter with tape, safety cones, etc. Stop all vehicular traffic within 300 feet.

• Identify immediate hazards, shut down all heavy equipment.

• Stop any on-going rescue operation until arrival of the TRT.

• Ventilate the trench with positive pressure, (blow air into it).

• Evaluate for rescue or recovery.

• Identify location, number and condition of victims.

• Initiate fire control measures. Allow no sources of ignition.

• Turn this sheet over to first TRT person on-scene.

** This is an example of the TRT Field Operations Guide (FOG Manual) that is given out to all our area fire / rescue organizations and is on every fire engine, ambulance and squad truck. The manual is designed so the first arriving unit has an idea of what to do and what not to do until the arrival of the TRT. Each agency that has been through our technical rescue awareness class is taught to use the manual like a "cook book" and just follow the directions.