Members participate in a trench drill.  (August 2001)

The Technical Rescue Team of Luzerne County is made up of highly trained, dedicated professionals who are certified in the areas of High Angle Rope Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, Trench/Excavation Rescue, and Structural Collapse Rescue.

The Avoca Rescue company is proud to be a core member of this team.

To date, team members have been trained to federal standards for Confined Space Rescue. Team members participate in annual training, including a minimum of one Confined Space Entry per year as required by OSHA standards.  Currently, the team has worked out mutual aid agreements with several Luzerne County communities, and has been working with the Army Corp of Engineers on the Luzerne County Levee Raising Project. The team has provided equipment and resources to the engineers during their inspections of pump stations throughout the Wyoming Valley.

During the year 2000, the team undertook the task of getting trained to Trench Levels I & II. Members used actual excavation sites to complete their training, and placed in service a box truck for the sole purpose of carrying the necessary shoring and other equipment needed to successfully complete a trench rescue.  As part of the team's ongoing training, annual drills will be held to ensure the team's capabilities for this type of incident.

The TRT has made great strides since the beginning of 2001 on finalizing standard operating procedures for all incident types, structuring accountability and incident command, and has teamed up with Luzerne County EMA to develop picture ID cards for all members.

By the end of 2001, the team hopes to have all members trained to the operations level for Structural Collapse.  Some training has been scheduled for later this year, and the unit officers are finalizing attendance requirements.

Since its inception, the team has been sent to several incidents in the county.  They include a building collapse in Exeter, Pa., trench collapse in Wilkes-Barre City, and a confined space rescue in Edwardsville.

The team has also worked with private industry firms to assist them in meeting OSHA requirements for confined space entry.  A mock drill was conducted in September of 2000 at the Air Products facility located in Hanover Township.  With the cooperation of plant officials and Hanover Twp. Rescue personnel, the drill was quite successful.

You can learn more about the TRT by selecting the following links:

ESTABLISHING COMMAND AND ACCOUNTABILITY

TRT TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

CONFINED SPACE DRILL - 9/00

                  Above: Avoca  Captain James Butler during the Trench Level II class.