Technical Rescue Division

This division is made up of a dynamic group of professionally trained volunteers based out of the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad. There are two sections, Heavy Technical Rescue and Light Technical Rescue. Members can be trained and cleared in multiple disciplines, which allows for a multi-faceted response to any incident.

Meetings and Training

 There is a Technical Rescue meeting on the first Thursday of each month to debrief any responses to incidents since the last meeting, review upcoming events and training opportunities, and check trucks and equipment to ensure they are ready for a response. We strive to provide the team with in-house trainings twice per month, one of which is typically part of the Thursday meeting. Depending on the discipline there will be training sessions on other Thursdays and occasional weekends. Numerous other training opportunities exist throughout the state, including those put on by other teams.

  • rescue team carrying stretcher down trail

    Search and Rescue

    The Search and Rescue team responds to call-outs to search for missing persons, from children to despondents to subjects with dementia. There are also calls to perform semi-technical and technical evacuations, provide search management, and to assist in disaster recovery. Search and Rescue teams respond throughout the New River Valley when requested. BVRS also has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Va. Department of Emergency Management to respond to call-outs across the state.

  • Rescue with ropes on a frozen pond

    Rope Rescue

    Whether it is assisting in moving a crew with a litter up an embankment with a victim from a motor vehicle crash, rescuing a hunter with a medical emergency from a tree stand, or rigging a vertical entry into a cave, the rope rescue team is up to the task. Ropes, racks, carabiners, prusics, and clutches are part of the everyday vocabulary of this group. The equipment bay of Station 5 is rigged with multiple points for vertical rope work for training. Field work includes use of the rappelling tower on the Virginia Tech campus, nearby caves, and trees on a member’s property.

  • removing a vehicle roof

    Extrication

    Extrication responds to and extricates victims trapped in a motor vehicles as the result of a crash. Entrapped victims are at risk for life-threatening complications from any injuries and require rapid treatment. The Extrication team responds with specialized equipment designed to stabilize and disassemble automobiles to reach trapped subjects so EMTs can begin treatment. Some members have advanced training that covers farm machinery extrication, school bus extrication, and big rig rescue and recovery.

  • Rescue team in a cave with subject in stretcher

    Cave Rescue

    Cave Rescue is a highly specialized aspect of the Technical Rescue division of the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad. It is composed of volunteers with specialized cave rescue training and experience working in caves. Members respond to incidents involving people who become lost or injured inside a cave and require specialized technical resources to rescue them safely. This team of volunteers can respond locally and throughout the state when requested for assistance. Training includes, but is not limited to, National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) courses of the National Speleological Society (NSS).

  • Trench Rescue

    This team will respond to incidents involving earthwork, such as digging a trench for utilities, when the earthwork collapses and traps a subject. The team is trained to shore up the scene and carry out a safe rescue.

  • looking into confined space in a pipe

    Confined Space

    This discipline responds to calls where there isn’t much room to maneuver — manholes, ductwork, pipes, machinery spaces — and where air quality may be questionable. Team members are trained and certified to operate in these adverse conditions.

  • Team assesses initial shoring

    Structural Collapse

    Members of this team respond when the structural integrity of a building is compromised. They have the skills and equipment to temporarily stabilize a structure to make it safe enough to evacuate any trapped subjects.

  • Swiftwater team members with boat on the river shore

    Swiftwater

    The Swiftwater team works on the water to rescue boaters in trouble, to extract a motorist stranded in flood waters, and to evacuate people from rising floodwaters. The New River and Claytor Lake are local training areas. There are also opportunities to train at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte.

  • Dive

    The Dive team works under the water to locate missing persons and to assist law enforcement in recovery of potential evidence dropped into a lake or river. The New River, the Blacksburg Aquatic Center, and Claytor Lake are local training areas.