Services: Rescue

The Campville Water Rescue Team is a separate branch of the fire department, much like Fire and EMS are separated, which requires specialized skills and training. The members of the water rescue team have been specially trained in swift water rescue, ice rescue, and boat rescue operations.

The primary response vehicle is 343, our Yankee airboat. The hauler, 344, serves not only to get the boat to the incident, but also serves as a mobile command center to coordinate the rescue operations and contains many of the rescue instruments not carried on the boat.

Campville’s district is primarily rural and contains many undeveloped roads. Hunting, four-wheeling, snowmobile riding, and skiing all place people in potentially dangerous situations far from normally accessible roads.

To access these remote areas, we utilize our Polaris 6-wheeled vehicle (342). In addition to being a brush-fire fighting vehicle, it is equipped with a stretcher system capable of carrying 200-300 pounds of load over undeveloped terrain.

When an emergency involves a steep incline or ravine, many of our responders have been trained in low-angle rescue techniques.

Utilizing the rope rescue equipment on 344, they are able to effectively establish the necessary systems to affect a low-angle rescue.