Cost of Technical Rescue

[trizahler26]

Does anyone have financial numbers for the cost to maintain and train a technical rescue team?

[jmatthe2]

Your best bet is to get with a vendor about what your specific needs are. I would be more than happy to talk to you. You can email me at technicalrc@comporium.net

[kferrara2002]

It varies depending on what level of service you want to provide. Obviously most departments are going to provide vehicle / machinery extrication capabilities; however, more and more departments are coming on board with confined space rescue and tech rope rescue (low angle & high angle rescues). This is where the cost factor comes into play. There are some good training organizations out there that offer the full spectrum of technical rescue training (i.e. NIMS, Water Rescue Awareness, Confined Space, Tech Rope, Auto Ex).

Time availability is something you need to look at as well. Most good quality vehicle extrication courses range from 3 to 5 days. Then there are the more advanced courses where students train on heave vehicles (i.e. busses, semis, farm equipment, etc.) and these courses are usually a week long. Confined Space training is usually broken down to fit the needs of the receiving agency. There are basic to advanced courses and some training agencies have custom courses for specific industries.

[FIRELT03]

the cost usually depend on what disciplines you actually want the team to focus on. If you do more than one, which is common, what time frame do you have to train? First determine if you want operational or technician level, do you have an interest in your members for tech rescue,what is the available funding to start, how often will you be able to train after you start, should be at least once a month, do you have any members capable of training you in one or more of the dsiciplines you choose, these are but a few of the questions you will have to answer to start. That being said, we started our team with a $100,000 check from a water treatment plant being installed, they gave us the money for equipment and training to start and we run a four town team, eight members from each town, train monthly and each town pays their guys on their own, equipment replacement is shared between each town, and as mentioned if previous posts above, you should as we do, follow 1670 and 1006 for team and individual skill levels. Any questions feel free to ask, good luck

[bbct001]

We started a team about 2 years ago. The team is limited to 12 members (joint fire/ems department). We started with high angle/below grade, and concentrated on just that for the first year. Now in our second year, we expanded to include swiftwater rescue. Our start-up cost was about 10k. Still need a lot of stuff, but that got ropes, beaners, pulleys, harnesses, etc. The biggest consideration, time. We try to train twice a month. If you don't do it, you will forget it. Hope that helps

[trizahler26]

Questions:

How much does initial start-up cost of a technical rescue team?

What are the advantages to the citizens who are served by a technical rescue team?

How often does a team have to train to meet current NFPA standards?

How much does it cost to run training sessions for team members? Overtime?

How much does it cost for ongoing equipment upkeep and maintenance?

How does a technical rescue team fit with OSHA?

What does your technical rescue team pre-plan?

How much does it cost to deploy a technical rescue team?

How does FEMA know that your technical rescue team exists?

Is it difficult to keep technical rescue teams proficient?

Who do you choose for technical rescue teams?

Are there ever any issues with city council members or mayors on the cost of technical rescue teams?

Is the public aware of your capabilities and are they in favor of funding a technical rescue team?

[KenNFD1219]

Questions:

How much does initial start-up cost of a technical rescue team?
Depends on number of members and type of service you want to provide. Looking for USAR capability? Then plan on well over a million dollars. Just high angle or confined space? Maybe $20,000 to $50,000.

What are the advantages to the citizens who are served by a technical rescue team? Better level of service without waiting for a distant agency to respond. This should be part of you hazard and needs assessment to justify a team.

How often does a team have to train to meet current NFPA standards? I believe if you have NFPA Technician certification in technical rescue, a certain amount of training must occur annulaly.

How much does it cost to run training sessions for team members? Overtime? Can training be on duty or do you need to call in off duty members for training or backfill? Your union contract will guide you on this matter.

How much does it cost for ongoing equipment upkeep and maintenance? Depends on the amount of gear you have, how often it is used, and how well your memebrs take care of it.

How does a technical rescue team fit with OSHA? No problem as long as you train people for the duties they are expected to perform and supply them with the appropriate PPE and tools.

What does your technical rescue team pre-plan? Depends on the type of hazard. Do you expect people to fall or get stuck on a particular cliff? Do you have a low overhead dam in your district? These areas can be identified in the needs assessment.

How much does it cost to deploy a technical rescue team? Overtime plus back fill plus expendables (food, fuel, supplies, etc.) Depends on the size of your team, where thay are going and for how long.

How does FEMA know that your technical rescue team exists? FEMA does not care about a local technical rescue team. There are 28 federal USAR teams and a bunch of state USAR teams. As far as I know FEMA will not deploy a state USAR team, but a state can request another states team through the EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact).

Is it difficult to keep technical rescue teams proficient? Yes, especially if you take a bunch of highly motivated people, train them like never before, and wait one or two years for an incident.

Who do you choose for technical rescue teams? Motivated people (police, fire, EMS) who are team orientated and have the basic skills to become a member.

Are there ever any issues with city council members or mayors on the cost of technical rescue teams? Yes, especially if they are not used often. This is a good reason for a regional team rather then one funded by a single town.

Is the public aware of your capabilities and are they in favor of funding a technical rescue team?The most vocal taxpayers are usually the one against something. It is up to you to sell the concept to the public and the politicians.

[trizahler26]

Would anyone be willing to email any charts or graphs of department budgets for any type of technical rescue?

I am writing a paper for my fire science course on the cost vs. benefit of technical rescue teams. I want to show that technical rescue teams are worth every cent taxpayers spend on them.

Any pdf. or doc.files of technical rescue budgets or what I mentioned above would help me immensely. I need some hard numbers.

Thanks To All for You Guys for Responding,

Tom Z.

[trizahler26]

Anybody? Anyone have any hard numbers?

[trizahler26]

Calling anyone who has experience with numbers in the technical rescue field.

[KenNFD1219]

I know you have asked this question several times. There are way too many variables to give a hard and fast number. A budget from one organization versus another offering the same technical rescue service could be widly different. One department may have seperate line items for technical training, others may roll it into regular training. Same with overtime and equipment purchases/maintenance.

That being said, you might have better luck trying the State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance SUSAR (http://www.susar.org/index.cfm)

Good luck.

[jbrescue]

If you want some real world numbers that may get you in the right direction as far as gear goes, email me a list directly. jason@jbrescue.com I will put together a list of MSRP pricing for you that will get you a high number of what you may be looking at. But unless you are going to provide numbers of personnel, equipment required and types of rescue services, this will be impossible.