The Urban Search and Rescue team, formerly Technical Rescue Specialist (TRS), has changed with the millennium. The team has not grown in numbers, but in responsibility. For the last several years, our team has been trained to handle such incidents as:

• High Angle Rope Rescue
• Collapsed Trench Emergencies
• Confined Space Rescue & Recovery
• Structural Collapse Rescues

For large-scale incidents, the team will be aided by a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS). There are 20 divisions that make up MABAS, and we are members of MABAS Division 1. (There are 26 departments in Division 1.) We share a USAR Trench and Confined Space trailer housed in Hoffman Estates.

Every year the team shares skills and techniques with shift members. This gives shift personnel the opportunity to be familiar with how the team will mitigate a situation, as well as a hands-on of equipment used. All sworn members of the department have been trained in Confined Space/Trench Awareness, a State of Illinois certified class.