Colorado Springs Fire Department announces Special Operations Unit
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) is implementing a first-ever for the department's Special Operations Unit.
According to the CSFD, the unit will be a team of three, including one captain and two lieutenants, to allow the position to be staffed 24 hours across three shifts.
The newly created position will carry out several duties including, drone operations, public information officer (PIO) support, and assuming roles as both an incident safety officer and health and wellness officer.
The CSFD stated this position will allow a drone to be deployed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for incidents throughout the Pikes Peak region to give firefighters a different perspective and view of emergency incidents.
These missions will include lost or missing hikers/climbers, smoke investigations, structure/wildland fires, high-angle rescues, and swift water rescues.
Special Operations personnel will also act as PIO support and will cover emergent incidents in the city, according to the CSDFD. They will also work hand-in-hand with the civilian PIO to provide the best support to the community and media partners.
The CSFD stated the Special Operations Unit will be trained as incident safety officers. They will cover all calls that require safety officers and their duties will involve mitigating any hazards firefighters might face while operating in a variety of environments.
These incidents the unit will respond to as safety officers will include, traffic accidents with trapped parties, wildland fires, high-angle rescues, and technical rescues.
The CSFD stated the health and wellness portion of the position is still in development but the Special Operations Unit will go into service on Wednesday, August 16, and will be responding out of Station 8.
