Fire Suppression
The largest division within the Edmond Fire Department is the Suppression Division. This division is responsible for first response in areas such as emergency medical, fire suppression, rescue activities, and mitigation of disasters. The primary goals of Suppression are life safety, incident stabilization, and property conservation.
Special Operations Teams
consist of individuals who go beyond the normal training regimen of a Firefighter and diversify their training to meet the challenges of specific rescue environments. The Edmond Fire Department currently maintains Dive, HazMat and TRT teams. Click the buttons below to learn about each team.
Dive Team
The Edmond Fire Department operates and trains a Rescue & Recovery Dive Team. The team can respond within minutes to any incident within the city of Edmond and surrounding areas. All training is certified through SDI (Scuba Diving International) and taught by our own Certified SDI & ERDI (Emergency Rescue Dive International) Instructors.
Team members train every month on anything from equipment orientation to a full-scale scenario. All members of the dive team maintain certifications in ERD 1 Operations, ERD Dry Suit Diver, and ERD Full Face Mask Diver. All team members must meet a minimum number of dive hours per calendar year and pass a swim test annually. Training topics include the following:
- Entanglements
- Self-rescue
- Recovery dives
- Cold water dives
- Shore line search
- Boat operations
The Dive Team’s capabilities are further enhanced with the added benefits of three boats. One is a 21’ Boston Whaler Rescue Boat equipped with dive capabilities and sonar. The other two are Zodiac inflatable rescue boats to navigate shallow water such as swiftwater incidents.
Hazardous Materials Response Team
The Edmond Fire Department HazMat Team is responsible for responding to incidents involving Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, & Explosive (CBRNE) hazards within the City of Edmond and surrounding areas. The Edmond Fire Department houses two specialized units to perform these tasks. One is the Oklahoma Department of Homeland Security Region 8 CBRNE Regional response unit. The other is a Mass Decon/Mass Casualty unit which allows treatment of large numbers of persons.
All members of the Fire department are trained to the level of HazMat Operations, with numerous members trained to the level of Technician and respond to:
- Highway transportation HazMat incidents
- Railroad HazMat incidents
- Industrial HazMat incidents
- Clandestine (illegal substance) Labs
- CBRNE incidents
The primary goals of the HazMat team are life safety, incident stabilization, and property conservation. At times, incident stabilization may include containment of hazardous materials, however, the Edmond Fire Department Hazmat team is not responsible for cleanup or remediation of hazardous waste.
Technical Rescue Team
The Edmond Fire Department Technical Rescue Team (TRT) is responsible for responding to incidents that require technical expertise in specialized tools, methods, and safety within the city of Edmond and surrounding areas. Such incidents can include natural disasters such as tornadoes and floods, to industrial accidents like a trench collapse, and even wilderness search and rescue. The Edmond Fire Department operates and maintains the Oklahoma Department of Homeland Security Region 8 TRT Regional response unit.
Each team member is trained in Emergency Medical Basic or Paramedic, Ropes Rescue I & II, Trench Rescue, Confined Space, and Vehicle and Machinery Extrication Operations. Some of the training is focused on the following:
- Interoperable communications
- Structural collapse
- Trench rescue
- High angle rescue
- Confined space rescue
- Swift water rescue
- Flood rescue
- Vehicle Extrication
- Heavy machinery & transportation incidents
Additionally, some TRT members also belong to Oklahoma Task Force 1 (OK-TF1), and the Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Units for the State of Oklahoma Department of Homeland Security.