Rescue squad
A rescue squad is an organization that provides emergency medical care to both trauma and medical patients at either the Basic Life Support or Advanced Life Support levels. The staff of such agencies can possess any number of certifications including first responder, Emergency Medical Technician, and Paramedic. The term rescue squad is synonymous with First Aid Squad, Emergency Squad, Safety Squad, Ambulance Squad, Ambulance Corps., and EMS.
One of the first squads to exist is the Belmar NJ Squad which was organized in 1927. [1] Other Rescue squads date back to May 1928, when Julian S. Wise of Roanoke, Virginia and nine other volunteers founded the Roanoke Lifesaving and First Aid Crew, the first volunteer rescue squad. After seeing the success in Roanoke the same was followed in Winston-Salem, NC. The Winston-Salem Rescue Squad which was chartered in 1937 continues to operate to this day. This department is the oldest Rescue Squad in NC and one of the oldest still operating in the United States under its original meaning.[citation needed] Initially, rescue squads performed both medical services and what are now considered technical rescue operations. Such operations include, but are not limited to: confined space rescue, cave rescue, vehicle extrication, search and rescue, rope rescue, Building Collapse, Underwater Dive Rescue, and swiftwater rescue. Advancements in technology have led to fewer fires, and as such, have resulted in many fire departments, both paid and volunteer, incorporating both EMS and technical rescue operations into their role. As a result many rescue squads that used to function as "true rescue squads" have recently been relegated to basic EMS ambulance services or have been forced to dissolve completely. However, many rescue squads still maintain and perform their original and historical functions of both emergency medical services and rescue operations, like those listed above. Typically, a rescue squad has equipment such as ambulances, light and heavy-duty rescue vehicles, such as squad trucks or crash-trucks, and possibly boats.