Technical Rescue Squad
Fire and Rescue San Andreas’s Technical Rescue Squad uses elite specialised members, skills and tools for rescue, including; vehicle extrication, confined space rescue, rope rescue, trench rescue, structural collapse rescue, water rescue, and wilderness search and rescue.
7 Technical Rescue Squads are strategically positioned around the 5 regions to complete effective and efficient rescues.
Special Operations Command
Fire and Rescue San Andreas’s Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) is divided into five subsections including; Hazmat (Hazardous Materials), Maritime Operations, Aviation Support Branch, Remote Area Firefighting Team (RAFT) and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR).
The Special Operations Command commonly assists other emergency services including the San Andreas State Police and Ambulance San Andreas.
Units Include
- Hazmat
- Maritime Operations
- Aviation Support Branch
- Remote Area Firefighting
- Urban Search and Rescue
Hazmat
Fire and Rescue San Andreas responded to 15,541 hazardous material (hazmat) incidents in 2016/17. Under State legislation, FRSA is responsible for protecting 100% of the people, property and environment of San Andreas from chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) hazards. These may range from industrial accidents to deliberate acts of terrorism.
Maritime Operations
Maritime Operations regularly assist Police and Ambulance in search and rescue efforts along the States’ coastline. Maritime Operations regularly work with Porth Authority San Andreas to combat any vessel fires in and around harbours.
Aviation Support Branch
Fire and Rescue San Andreas’s Aviation Support Branch (ASB) provides critical fire suppression, rescue and life flight capabilities across Metropolitan and Regional San Andreas.
Remote Area Firefighting
Remote Area Firefighting Team (RAFT) personnel are specialist members of the San Andreas Rural Fire Service who are particularly effective for work in rugged, isolated areas that firefighting tankers can’t access by road. They can be transported in 4WD before hiking to the fireground, or sometimes winched in by helicopter.
RAFTs are skilled in dry firefighting techniques such as creating firebreaks by cutting mineral earth trails or undertaking backburning work.
Urban Search and Rescue
FRSA Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability provides specialised equipment, training, organisation and techniques used to locate, access, stabilise, and rescue people trapped following major building collapses and other complex rescues. The initial USAR response is provided by on-duty rescue crews staffing heavy rescue units in Rockford Hills, Zancudo, Davis. FRSA has over 250 additional specialist personnel capable of carrying out complex technical rescue operations as members of USAR Task Forces.
A USAR Task force is a team of trained personnel including; rescuers, ambulance specialists, hazardous material technicians, trauma doctors and others. The San Andreas USAR task force combines specialist extrication and medical skills along with firefighting skills of entry, salvage and hazardous material response.
USAR is a key component of the state’s ability to deal with the consequences of a terrorist attack; whereas Fire and Rescue San Andreas (FRSA) play a key role in training and providing tactical and strategic support to other states, territories and countries in the region. FRNSA urban search and rescue expertise gives the State an internationally recognised structural collapse capability, and we are registered with the United Nations to respond to requests for international assistance.
Fire Investigations & Research Branch
Fire and Rescue San Andreas (FRSA) Fire Investigation and Research Unit (FIRU) provides a range of investigative and research services to both internal and external customers including research into human and structural behaviour during fire, and the associated impacts for performance based building design. The Fire Investigation and Research Unit assists with determining fire causes and liaises closely with Police and other investigators.
The objective of FIRU is to improve measures against deliberately lit fires and ensure the safety of the community by determining the causes of fires; particularly those caused by faulty appliances in use by the public. Investigators also interact with FRSA personnel to assist with fire cause determination, fire report compilation and submission of reports and statements to Police and through the court system.
Investigators from FIRU attend fires throughout the State, particularly those where:
- there has been a loss of life or major injury from fire
- the fire is considered major
- the fire is considered unusual, suspicious or deliberate
- the cause is not readily apparent
- the Incident Commander requests FIRU attendance
When attending fires the Investigators are able to observe first-hand the behaviour of the fire, methods of extinguishment, building behaviour and human behaviour. Firefighters find evidence at fires and preserve it for later production in court or continuing investigations. FIRU officers supervise and instruct on recognition and preservation of that evidence. They also obtain current and relevant information to assist in the investigation of the fire origin and cause.
FIRU is also responsible for analysing the built environment in the context of human behaviour in fires, structural behaviour, impact and cost of fires to the organisation and the community. This information is then used by fire engineers, fire code reform bodies, tertiary organisations, fire services and the designers of fire safety systems etc.
Education & Training
Responsible for providing high-quality education and training for firefighters, improving skills and increasing safety, utilising the Emergency Services Academy at Zancudo.
