NEW TRT MEMBERS
NEW TRT MEMBERS
Welcome to the CARS Technical Rescue Team. The technical rescue team was formed to deal with those rescue situations and environments that present the greatest danger to rescuers, therefore we operate quite differently than regular rescue operations dictate. As a new team member, you have already received some HTR training, but are unfamiliar with how our team operates. This article will hopefully get you running up to speed with us. As always, if you are unfamiliar with something or just have general questions then please ask for help.
PERSONAL EQUIPMENT: While not required, it is strongly recommended that you buy a gear bag and the following items to be carried with you in your POV:
STUFF WE GIVE YOU: Along with the coveralls, we will supply you with a TRT pager when one becomes available. If you are in a local fire company, you can buy and install a reed that allows your FD pager to receive TRT alerts as well. Mike Johnson and John Oprandy are capable of making the modification for you if you buy the reed. If you have a local rescue squad pager, we will supply you with the appropriate reed. Ty Hoeffer is our communications specialist, if you have any questions see him.
You will also receive a CARS ID card as well as a CARS TRT ID card. You must supply a passport quality photo to us for your ID card. Ty takes care of the ID cards as well, see him for details.
RESPONDING TO CALLS: Once you are notified of a TRT activation, respond directly to the scene ASAP. Situation reports, (sit-reps), will be given over the radio so listen out. (Depending on the situation, you may elect to respond to the CARS building instead.) Regular CARS members are not allowed to respond directly to the scene unless requested. The history of ECC dispatching the TRT is poor at best, it usually depends on who is doing the dispatching. When you arrive on-scene, put on your coveralls and report directly to the IC for staging instructions.
TRAINING: Any HTR related training is strongly encouraged. You must complete all required certifications when practical. Full CARS members may apply for training funds from the squad, associate members are not eligible for funds. If you wish to take any DFP HTR class, contact me and I can get you in. If I am teaching in a class that you want to take, contact me and you can ride along and stay in my hotel room for free. The DFP also encourages TRT personnel to assist their instructors teaching DFP HTR classes, see me if you are interested.
We keep track of all HTR related training so forward the following information to me concerning any classes you take:
Classes of interest are also posted on the TRT bulletin board, which is located in the training room next to the outside exit. Once all required certifications have been completed, you will receive the designation of Master Rescue Technician (MRT) through the squad.
You will be given a checklist that must be completed before you become an active member of the TRT. This checklist is to ensure that you know where all our equipment is located and how everything operates. As you complete each item, it must be signed-off by a TRT member. When completed, turn this checklist in to me for credit.
We require that you take 36 hours of additional training per year. This training can be in any form (new certification, CEU's, additional training, re-certification, etc.) The following activities yield CEU hours in addition to actual certification classes:
Keep one thing in mind. From experience we have found that usually 1/3 of the team will show for an activation. This means that when you arrive you will never have enough TRT personnel alone to affect any rescue, so you must use allied fire/rescue personnel. You will have to train some of these people on the spot as to the function you need them to do. All this means you have to be very good at every aspect of technical rescue and be able to show untrained rescuers how to do something in a hurry while under tremendous pressure. Constantly reviewing notes on all aspects of tech rescue is the only way to stay proficient.
TRT NEWSLETTERS: We publish a newsletter every so often that contains information on team activities as well as upcoming classes and exercises. The newsletter will be placed in your mailbox at CARS. Keep these newsletters as references. All past TRT newsletters are posted on a clipboard mounted on the bulletin board found at the top of the stairs. You will want to take the time to read through these to get up to speed on how things have come about.
REQUIRED MEETINGS: You are required to make announced training meetings. They are always announced in advance through the newsletter when and where, (usually the first Sunday evening of every even month). These meetings usually last 3 hours and involve some training as well as the latest team happenings. In addition, you are required to attend 2 of the 4 yearly FTXs as well as all fund raising events. If you cannot make any team function, call me and let me know. As long as you keep me informed everything is OK, people that fail to show and never call me usually wind up being bumped off the team for lack of participation.
PUBLICATIONS: As a new member, you will receive a copy of the CARS TRT Team Information Manual. This manual describes the history of the team and contains related SOPs and team doctrine and you are responsible for knowing this information well. Every July, an annual report is issued that describes team activities over the past year, equipment acquisitions, as well as future goals. Along with this report you will receive a personal summary of your accomplishments over the past year that includes the number of training hours you have received, team meetings attended, FTXs attended, list of CEU articles turned in and fund raising activities attended. This report will also list your status with the team. Every major incident we respond to will be written up in a formal report and will sent to each team member.
LEADERSHIP: The CARS organizational chart list me, (John Burruss - Rescue 109), as being in charge of the technical rescue team. Pete Davidson, (Rescue 110) is a Lieutenant who is in charge of all rescue operations and is my immediate boss. The CARS TRT is a team and operates as such. Most major decisions that concern team operations are brought to the team for consideration. On calls, the first TRT member on-scene is usually designated as incident commander for the entire incident, (you should become familiar with the IC bag which is carried on Squad 133). CARS uses the integrated incident management system that is described in SOP 3.1 and you must become very familiar with this system ASAP. The Duty Officer is a line-officer that is in charge of day-to-day operations of the squad and will respond to TRT incidents per dispatch protocol. It is rare that he/she will run the incident unless they are a TRT member. The crew sergeant, (Sergeant 1), is the person who is in charge of the duty crew and is responsible for the building. Anything you do around the building, (such as washing your car or washing clothes in the laundry room), must be OK'd by the crew sergeant first.
USING TRT EQUIPMENT: We have set up a system for using TRT equipment for training purposes. If you are taking any rope related training class and need to borrow equipment, you may use one of the personal packs that is carried on squad 133. First, contact me. Second, sign the pack out in the red book labeled "TRT Equipment" located on the shelf above the downstairs computer. (You must sign-out and take the entire pack.) When you bring it back, have another TRT member inventory the pack with you and log it back in. While using CARS TRT gear, you cannot modify it. This means you cannot remove helmet mounted lights simply because you do not want to have it on there. We also have some rope gear that is available for personal use. This gear is located on top of the SCUBA locker and you use the same procedure to borrow it as well. Gear that is not located on top of the SCUBA locker can only be used for certification classes.
T-SHIRTS: I take care of supplying either blue/white or white/multi-color CARS t-shirts for the squad. The TRT wears either black/gold or red/white logo shirts for special functions. The cost for these short-sleeve shirts is $10.00 each, see me for details.
MISC. STUFF: On TRT incidents, we use TAC-4, (walkie channel 3), and give periodic sit-reps to ECC on TAC-MAIN. You need to become familiar with how the ECC radio system works.
If you hear a loud whistle blow on an incident, stop whatever you are doing immediately. STORM whistles, (120 dB), are carried in each personal pack and are used by personnel to alert everyone to a dangerous condition that requires immediate work stoppage.
CARS TRT gear is inventoried every 6 months. If you find something broken, missing or disabled then alert the TRT Sergeant ASAP. If there is a piece of equipment you think we should have, then let me know.
We are a team, and as such everyone is here to help you make the transition to becoming a productive team member. If you have questions about anything then ask any of us for help. The only dumb question is the one that goes unasked.
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For more information email me at:
jburruss@hotmail.com