As our name suggests, we are responsible for both fire and rescue services in the City of Zion. Ordinarily, most of our emergency response calls involve medical problems, car accidents or fires of one type or another. There is always a chance, however, that something very out the ordinary may occur. A Water Department employee may collapse deep in a tunnel, a window-washing scaffold may fail several stories off the ground, or perhaps an excavating crew installing a water line could become trapped when the trench they’re in collapses. Situations like these are extraordinary and require specially trained and equipped people to handle them.
We are fortunate to be in Lake County, which is very progressive in preparing for such emergencies. The Lake County fire departments operate a Specialized Response Team for Technical Rescue. The Zion Fire Rescue Department plays a role in this team. By combining resources, all Lake County Fire Departments have access to training, personnel, and equipment that would be too expensive for a single department.
The Technical Rescue Team consists of 4 separate disciplines: Confined Space Rescue, High Angle Rescue, Structural Collapse Rescue and Trench Rescue. The Zion Fire Rescue Department has personnel trained in all 4 disciplines.
Rocky Campanella, Tom Bailey, and Jason Messick are currently the fire department members assigned to the Lake County Technical Rescue Team. To become a member of this team requires some rather extensive initial training and there is also a large amount of continuing education.
If one of these types of emergencies happens anywhere in Lake County or even the rest of the country (Lake County sent members to help with the Katrina Disaster) you can feel confident that well trained people will arrive to help.