
SPECIALIZED TEAMS
AND
EMERGENCY SERVICES
TECHNICAL RESCUE TEAM (TRT)

The technical rescue team currently has 15
members who specialize in: rope rescue,
swift water rescue, trench rescue,
confined space rescue, vehicle extrication, and structural
collapse. Team
members participate in approximately 200 hours of training per year with
several
members that are also trained in Hazardous Materials and Dive Rescue.
All shift personnel have
been trained in Rope Rescue I and II and awareness level in Trench and
Confined Space. They will be trained to Operations level this year.
In Oct. 2009 Bullhead City Fire will
take delivery of our first Heavy Rescue. The department
was able to obtain this
vehicle through funding from Assistance to Firefighter Grants.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONSE TEAM (HAZMAT)

The Bullhead City Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team is
part of the Mohave County Hazmat Regional
Response Unit. The unit covers all
areas of Mohave County, incorporated and unincorporated, with technician level
trained personnel and enhanced by specially trained local operational
personnel. The unit responds to a variety of
hazardous chemical, biological and
unknown substance calls, from simple odor investigations to potential
weapons of mass destruction events. Team members responded to 82 local calls
in 2008.
The Bullhead Hazmat Team
is headed by Assistant Fire Chief Joe Anderson. The ten members are
actively involved in
hazardous materials training, practicing at least
monthly. Training includes maintaining specialized skills and testing
operational personnel to affirm or enhance their level of preparedness and to
keep them aware of the dangers
of the materials they encounter daily. Training
also includes anti-terrorism preparedness for all response personnel.
DIVE TEAM
The Bullhead City Fire Department has recognized the
tremendous growth in awareness of the need to effectively
respond to water
emergencies. Our community demands preparedness from their public safety
officials. Bullhead City
Fire Department Dive/Rescue Teams approach to aquatic
preparedness ensures public safety officials respond
effectively to
water-incident scenes. We combine state
of the art knowledge of rescue and recovery, a network of
experienced
professionals who also work in the field and field exercises with operational
standards that ensure
sustainable performance. This approach supports national
preparedness goals and provides training tailored to enhance
our departmental
operations.
The Bullhead City Fire Department Dive Team is comprised of
ten members
and is led by Engineer Jimmy Smith.
BOAT OPERATIONS

The Bullhead City Fire Department Boat Operations Division
consists of 22 certified boat operators
and two watercraft. We have a
23 foot Jetcraft and a 26 foot Munson landing craft equipped with a
500 gallon
per minute fire pump. Both watercraft are equipped with a Hamilton jet
drive and are capable
of operating in shallow water. The watercraft
respond to marine emergencies including dive rescue operations,
boat and
personal watercraft accidents, boat and shore line fires, and medical
emergencies. The boat
operations division is headed by Captain Rob
Woodford.
BLOOD PRESSURE CLINIC
Every Tuesday Morning at Fire Station One, two volunteer nurses
are on hand to take
blood pressure readings from 9:00 am until Noon.
This service is offered to the public at
no charge. We really appreciate
these wonderful volunteers and their dedication to public service.
This photo shows Fire Chief Rick Southey and volunteer Joeen Griffin
taking a pressure reading.
BEE ERADICATION

Bullhead Firefighters are trained to eradicate aggressive bee
swarms using high pressure foam.
Citizens are encouraged to contact a
beekeeper or an exterminator to have beehives removed, but if the bees
are
aggressive and agitated, and there is a danger that the bees might attack
and sting, the fire department
will respond and attempt to foam the swarm.
DEPARTMENT CHAPLAINS
Bullhead City Fire Department has five volunteer Chaplains on
our staff. They are: Val Farber,
Ken Kreidel, Pat Nolan,
Fred Stow, and Jeff Turner. Each of these volunteers have successfully
completed
training courses in Basic Chaplaincy, Critical Incident Stress
Management, and NIMS Incident Command.
The chaplains are assigned 24-hour on-call shifts to respond to fires, accidents and any
other incidents where
their support and assistance is needed to comfort and help
victims and family members through difficult situations.

Val Farber is the Lead Chaplain
Copyright © Bullhead City Fire Department. All rights reserved.