2023 ANNUAL REPORT-FINAL

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EMERGENCY SERVICES

Special Operations

The Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services’ Special Operations includes seven different specialty response disciplines to mitigate a variety of complex incidents. The technical nature, specialized equipment, and tactics required to mitigate these high-risk, low-frequency events, necessitates that our members complete between 99 to 240 additional hours of training. Our Special Operations disciplines include:

➢ Hazardous Incident Response Team (HIRT) ➢ Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)

➢ Tactical Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) ➢ Water Rescue Technician (WRT) Program

➢ Technical Rescue Team (TRT) ➢ Wildland Firefighting Team

➢ Dive Team

Incident Responses by Specialty Team – Annual

Specialty

2023 Number of Incidents

Special Operations BC 900

66

Hazmat

161

Technical Rescue Water Related sUAS Missions Wildland Team

61 23

2 8

Dive Team

25 21

Tactical EMS Deployments

Total

367

In 2023, there was tremendous growth within Special Operations. Frederick County DFRS Special Operations became a member of Maryland Department of Emergency Management’s Search and Rescue Task Force (MDEM SAR-TF). In addition to that, thanks to the tireless effort of DFRS Staff and the support of the County Executive, Frederick County DFRS is now a Participating Agency with FEMA’s Maryland Task Force One (MD -TF1). Twenty- five DFRS personnel are actively engaged in Maryland Task Force One’s Selection Process.