Specialty units..have one? worth it?

[nyfo]

Many agencies, in addition to their primary responsibility(s), have decided to create units within their agency that provide a specialty function and service that would serve a vital purpose in urgent times of need.

My agency, who's primary responsibilities are EMS and HEAVY RESCUE SERVICES, has a division dubed "Special Ops" which is comprised of three speciality units:
EMS BIKE UNIT FIRE/HAZ-MAT REHAB Mass Casualty Response(MCRU)

The BIKE UNIT has proven successful during crowded events nd festivals where larger apparatus have limited manueverability and also serves as a good public relations device.

The REHAB UNIT is also a proven and useful unit during fire scenes.

The MCR UNIT, our pride an joy, is proven to be extremly useful and successful during trying situations such as 9-11 when it was used to command the Giants Stadium Treatment Center on 9-11. The MCRU also recieves occasional publicity not only throughout the state but also nationally when the editor JEMS magazine put its capablities to the test during a class that was featured in JEMS magazine.

Are specialty units worth it? Do we have a responsibility to provide thest extra services? What se some extra services your agency provides?

[JimSpoor]

Are specialty teams "worth it"? Depends on what you mean. Financiallly, almost never. For the cost of a new team you could upgrade or improve your core functions.

Every agency and every community wants to have the best and the newest and perfect set up. Doesn't happen.

The only reason to have a unit of ANY type, special or not is that your agency has identified a critical need that is not AND cannot be met with existing resources, MOU, mutual aid agreements, etc. Not because it is the "in"thing or the agency nest door has one so we need one too.

It sounds to me like your specialty teams are being well utilized. In that case your chiefs probably made the right decision.

[nyfo]

Originally posted by JimSpoor

The only reason to have a unit of ANY type, special or not is that your agency has identified a critical need that is not AND cannot be met with existing resources, MOU, mutual aid agreements, etc.
I agree but whose responsibility is it to provide these additional resources? Our MCRU is the primary response unit for a tri-county area but yet our main services tend to municipal jurisdiction. If we didn't do it, would anyone? Understand what I'm getting at?

[TJ_JASON]

My volunteer Department in Mississippi has the so-called "first" 100% volunteer Dive/Rescue Team in the country. We supplied all of our own scuba gear. No calls have been dispatched since we formed the unit, but it will be there when we need it.

[JimSpoor]

I would be interested in your definition of first. My all volunteer agency also has a full service Dive Team that was formed in the late 1970s. I'm sure that we were not the first.

Be proud of your agency and yourself. Just be careful pride doesn't turn into arrogance.

Good Luck.

P.S.

NYFO,

Whose resonsibility it is can only be decided by the courts, IMHO. What normally happens is that either a dept./agency sees a need, grabs the bull by the horns, and gets it done; OR a catastrophe happens, someone sues, and a judicial body mandates such and such service should and will be provided by said agency. There have been a few examples of Sheriff's Offices being hit with " a full service police agency is responsible for providing_________". So sayeth Judge Muckymuck. Doesn't happen very often, but it has happened.

Either way it usually, but not always, takes something going very, very wrong for everybody to wake up and step into a new role.

[TJ_JASON]

Sorry, I meant to type county, not country. That should be a given, Mississippi is only first in teen pregnancies and unemployment. hehe.

[KYEMT325]

I agree with Jim. If your department has the money to throw around, then more power to you if you want to start a special team in your fire department. But lest we forget that the fire department's main mission is to fight fires, and throughout the years has now seen itself take on more of an EMS role as well as vehicular rescue services. As far as other special teams, I would much rather have an organization who dedicates themselves to specifically addressing a particular specialty ONLY, than a volunteer fire department who is dividing their time with fire training and training in the special area (get my drift)?

That's just my two-cents.

[cowboy326911]

I am part of a specialty unit and we actually do what we are supposed to do. I'm on an all volunteer department and am the captain of the quick response team. Since we are an all volunteer depatment we don't have someone at the station standing by with a truck all the time. It got to the point that we didn't know who was going to be available at any given time so we had to have a way to guarantee someone would be available to go to the truck while others went to the scene POV. All the board members got together and decided to form the QRT and since I had the best work schedule and had the inside scoop with dispatch they put me in charge and let me do the recruiting. Right now there are 4 on the team other than myself and we have yet to have a problem with someone getting to the station or the scene. We have a better than 75% save rate since we have formed. Thats something to keep in mind when forming specialty units. If life and property saved has increased or will be increased by forming the unit then if the assets are there then go for it.

[nyfo]

Not to sound negative but what do you specialize in? I though responding was kind of expected...

[Flippy]

We've tried having specialty units in the past but have been unsuccessful. There's some people who have great visions, but it never seems to get off the ground. I think for something like that to work there has to be plenty of funding and lots of interested, available and capable people--all of which we're lacking here.