Montgomery fire department gets $1M in new search and rescue equipment

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Montgomery Fire & Rescue received $1 million worth of equipment to better aid victims of natural disasters. The equipment will be used by the Urban Search and Rescue Team during a natural disaster.

Chief of Special Operations Samuel Castanza said the fire department has been wanting to take their special operations to the next level for years.

“The fire chief is very proactive. With all the things going on in the world today, would we be able to accommodate that,” said Castanza.

The Urban Search and Rescue Team will work with a shore set, which holds up unstable building walls, noise and video detection to find unseen survivors in void spaces, a new rope cachet, and a brand new truck to transport it all.

“On the training standpoint, were pushing about 75% of where we were at,” said Castanza.

“These guys are all first responders, and that is the calling that they’re been drawn to do, so training really puts that stuff out there that helps them be able to work with all this equipment so that we’re ready in the event that some type of event of disaster. And nobody wants a disaster to come. We just want to be able to be prepared for that disaster,” said Castanza.

Castanza says the equipment is currently operational.

The department has only received 50% of the equipment, and Castanza says he expects this project to be fully complete in the next two years.

The equipment was funded by the city of Montgomery.

Sign up for the WSFA Newsletter and get the latest local news and breaking alerts in your email!

Copyright 2022 WSFA. All rights reserved.