Rescue squad

Rescue squad[1] is a term used in the United States to refer to emergency units that provide emergency medical services and may perform technical rescues and firefighting operations.

Loudoun County Rescue Squad (Ambulance)

Washington D.C. Rescue Squad

Rescue squads provide basic or advanced life support to trauma and medical patients, typically operating from ambulances, squad trucks, or fly-cars or aircraft. They may also provide technical rescue, operating from light and heavy rescue vehicles or rescue boats. Rescue squads may be integrated within fire departments or may constitute stand-alone organizations; those within the fire service may also perform firefighting operations.

The staff of such agencies possess any number of qualifications, including emergency medical responder, emergency medical technician (i.e., paramedic), and firefighter certifications. They rescue people from a variety of situations, including traffic collisions, structure fires, hazardous-materials incidents, machinery entrapments, confined spaces, trench collapses, structural collapses, and water hazards.