The first Rescue Challenge was held in May of 1995. Mark Light, then chief of the Henrico County Division of Fire, and Battalion Chief Charlie King of Roanoke County Fire & Rescue developed the idea. Chief Light and Chief King are two of the original 10 members of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs Heavy & Tactical Rescue Team. Battalion Chief Steve Wood of the Henrico County Division of Fire planned and directed the first three Rescue Challenges sitting the standard for all future Rescue Challenge events.
The 1995 Rescue Challenge was by invitation only to 6 Fire Departments in Virginia. The teams that were invited had enough technical rescue trained personnel to field a team of 12 to 15 members. Since 1995 additional teams have been added. For 2005, 10 teams representing some 15 to 17 organizations will participate.
Designed to challenge team member’s technical and organizational skills, Rescue Challenge was also meant to encourage networking between the states highly trained technical rescuers. Giving them an annual event at which to exchange ideas as well as enhance their skills while working real life problems. Teams complete two scenarios a day for each of the events four days, for a total of eight scenarios. High angle rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, vehicle/heavy machinery rescue and light & heavy structural collapse rescue are the basis for each Rescue Challenge scenario. Some scenarios use a combination of technical rescue skills to complete them successfully.
The first three years (1995, 96 & 97) of this event were held in and around the Richmond area. The second two years (98 & 99) were held in Northern Virginia. Year 2000 & 2001 were held in the Roanoke Valley, with 2002 & 2003 hosted by Virginia Beach and the other departments, which make up the Tidewater Regional Technical Rescue Team. In 2004 we celebrated the 10th anniversary of this event when teams met in Central Virginia. Coverage of the event was featured in the July 04 issue of Fire Chief Magazine.
Teams from Roanoke Valley, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Chesterfield, Henrico, Virginia Beach, Howard County Maryland, Montgomery County Maryland and Fort Belvoir Virginia have sent their technical rescue teams to compete in this event. Many of the individual participants are on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces. These personnel are highly trained and have been sent to locations around the world to assist in large-scale disasters. The Oklahoma City bombing, earthquakes in Iran, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, and California, hurricanes in Florida, and the Pentagon on 9-11 are but a few places that these personnel have been to assist in rescue and recovery operations.
This year we celebrate the 11th anniversary of Rescue Challenge. Returning to Central Virginia for 2005, Chesterfield County with assistance from its partners in the Central Virginia Technical Rescue Team (Henrico and Hanover Counties) and the Crater Regional Technical Rescue Team (Colonial Heights, Ft. Lee, Hopewell, Petersburg and Prince George County) will host this year’s event. The Technical Rescue Association of Virginia has once again taken a lead role in sponsoring and organizing this event.
The 1995 Rescue Challenge was by invitation only to 6 Fire Departments in Virginia. The teams that were invited had enough technical rescue trained personnel to field a team of 12 to 15 members. Since 1995 additional teams have been added. For 2005, 10 teams representing some 15 to 17 organizations will participate.
Designed to challenge team member’s technical and organizational skills, Rescue Challenge was also meant to encourage networking between the states highly trained technical rescuers. Giving them an annual event at which to exchange ideas as well as enhance their skills while working real life problems. Teams complete two scenarios a day for each of the events four days, for a total of eight scenarios. High angle rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, vehicle/heavy machinery rescue and light & heavy structural collapse rescue are the basis for each Rescue Challenge scenario. Some scenarios use a combination of technical rescue skills to complete them successfully.
The first three years (1995, 96 & 97) of this event were held in and around the Richmond area. The second two years (98 & 99) were held in Northern Virginia. Year 2000 & 2001 were held in the Roanoke Valley, with 2002 & 2003 hosted by Virginia Beach and the other departments, which make up the Tidewater Regional Technical Rescue Team. In 2004 we celebrated the 10th anniversary of this event when teams met in Central Virginia. Coverage of the event was featured in the July 04 issue of Fire Chief Magazine.
Teams from Roanoke Valley, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Chesterfield, Henrico, Virginia Beach, Howard County Maryland, Montgomery County Maryland and Fort Belvoir Virginia have sent their technical rescue teams to compete in this event. Many of the individual participants are on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces. These personnel are highly trained and have been sent to locations around the world to assist in large-scale disasters. The Oklahoma City bombing, earthquakes in Iran, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, and California, hurricanes in Florida, and the Pentagon on 9-11 are but a few places that these personnel have been to assist in rescue and recovery operations.
This year we celebrate the 11th anniversary of Rescue Challenge. Returning to Central Virginia for 2005, Chesterfield County with assistance from its partners in the Central Virginia Technical Rescue Team (Henrico and Hanover Counties) and the Crater Regional Technical Rescue Team (Colonial Heights, Ft. Lee, Hopewell, Petersburg and Prince George County) will host this year’s event. The Technical Rescue Association of Virginia has once again taken a lead role in sponsoring and organizing this event.