A
heavy rescue vehicle is a type of specialty
firefighting or EMS (
Emergency Medical Services)
apparatus. Essentially oversized
toolboxes
on wheels, they are primarily designed to provide the specialized
equipment necessary for
technical
rescue situations such as
auto
accidents requiring
vehicle
extrication,
building
collapse,
confined space
rescue,
rope rescues and
swiftwater rescues.. They carry an array
of special equipment such as the
Jaws of
life, wooden
cribbing,
generators,
winches, hi-lift
jacks,
crane,
cutting torches,
circular saws and other forms of heavy
equipment unavailable on standard trucks. This capability
differentiates them from traditional
pumper
trucks or
ladder trucks designed
primarily to carry
firefighters and
their entry gear as well as onboard
water
tanks, hoses and equipment for fire extinguishing and light
rescue. Most heavy rescue vehicles lack onboard water tanks and
pumping gear, owing to their specialized role, but some do carry
onboard pumps in order to broaden their response capability.
NFPA
(National Fire
Protection Association in the U.S.
) regulation
1006 and 1670 give guidelines and regulations for the operation of
heavy rescue vehicles and also state that all "rescuers" must have
medical training to perform any technical rescue operation,
including cutting into the vehicle itself . Therefore, in
most all rescue environments, whether it is an EMS Department or
Fire Department that runs the rescue, the actual rescuers who cut
the vehicle and run the extrication scene are Medical
First Responders,
Emergency Medical Technicians,
or
Paramedics, as a
motor vehicle accident has a
patient involved.
Railway Heavy Rescue
In addition to traditional fire brigades and rescue departments,
tram or
railway
companies may have their own heavy rescue squads specialized in
responding to tram or
train accidents
including
derailments. . For example,
railway rescue squads may carry specialized equipment for railway
accidents like heavy hydraulic jacks, heavy truck-mounted cranes
for lifting and moving derailed
locomotives and
train
cars, and equipment for capping leaking
tank cars. .
Heavy rescue vehicles can also be outfitted specifically as HAZMAT
Response Vehicles. In these situations, they carry the necessary
specialized equipment to respond to and deal with
Haz-Mat incidents. These types of
apparatus may also be equipped with a pump and tank(s) for water
and/or foam, but they carry materials for
decontamination, absorption of chemicals,
plugging leaks in storage tanks, and
chemical protection suit for
firefighters.
Gallery of heavy rescue vehicles
Image:Squad 15.jpg|Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad's squad
15Image:Rescue 439.jpg|Fairfax County Rescue
439Image:FremontTechnicalRescue 3897.jpg|Fremont CA Technical
Rescue 3897Image:RE45-1.jpg|Rescue-Engine 45 is a typical Palm
Beach County Fire Rescue (PBCFR) fire engine. This ALS engine
company serves the Kings Point/Villages of Oriole communities of
suburban Delray Beach,
Florida.Image:CARS_Squad_135.jpg|Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue
Squad's technical rescue vehicle, Squad
135.Image:Rescue_Squad_1.jpg|1994 Pierce Lance Rescue Squad 1
Falmouth Volunteer Fire Department in Stafford,
Virginia.
Image:Helsinki rescue unit H15.jpg|An old
rescue unit approaching a fire in Helsinki
, Finland
.
(Click the picture to see the list of
equipment.)Image:NSWFB-USAR1.jpg|NSW Fire Brigades USAR
Heavy Rescue in Sydney
.
See also
References
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