The grant includes purchase of 100 self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units on eight structure fire engines, seven wildland fire engines, four water tenders, one heavy rescue unit, three safety officer and four incident command vehicles that work in and or respond to incidents within the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District which is administered by the Reno Fire Department.
Another $84,000 will be used to provide Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) packs for 17 structure fire engines, four ladder trucks and three rescue units that are "first out" emergency units to allow any unit to provide dedicated RIT teams during an emergency operation.
The RIT packs consist of special rescue equipment and SCBA's that are used to rescue civilians or firefighters who become trapped as the result of a collapse, or failure of special equipment, such as SCBA failure, in structure fires, structural or confined space collapse situations. RIT training includes special tools and methods utilized to breach interior and exterior walls, shoring and other related special operations.
About $20,640 will be utilized to send members of the Reno Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) to structural collapse and collapse search and rescue "train the trainer" courses at Texas A& M University to help the team meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) national standards. Reno USAR team members will then present the materials to other members of the USAR team.
The Reno Fire Department's USAR Team operates as an all-risk or multi-hazard team that encompasses technical rescue and may be needed for a variety of emergencies or disasters including earthquakes, storms, floods, dam failure, technological accidents, terrorist activities and hazardous materials releases. Team members conduct field structural calculations for load and develop plans for use of their specialized skills and tools in extremely hazardous situations.
