Hazardous Materials Medical Emergency Rescue

Wake County's HAMMER team consists of specially trained and certified paramedics who have advanced skills in the management of hazardous materials emergencies, urban search and rescue techniques and various additional technical rescue disciplines. These medics provide medical support to regional special response teams. These teams include the North Carolina Hazardous Material Regional Response Team #4, which is operated by the City of Raleigh Fire Department, and the North Carolina Urban Search and Rescue Task Force #8, operated cooperatively by the fire departments of the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the Town of Chapel Hill.

Wake County's HAMMER medics were the first in North Carolina to be trained to the FEMA "Urban Search and Rescue Medical Specialist" standard. These medics were trained by a FEMA-certified physician and USAR instructors to provide medical support to patients during prolonged entrapments resulting from structural collapse and other hazards, and to support the USAR team as primary healthcare providers during out-of-area deployments.

The team has also completed the Advanced HazMat Life Support course and additional training to allow them to perform rescue and support the hazardous materials team during "hot zone" operations. This is the only team of its type in the State of North Carolina, and one of only a few in the nation with these unique capabilities.

The team's capabilities are expected to expand in the disciplines of high-angle and low-angle technical rescue, swift-water rescue and fire scene rehabilitation.

For additional information about the HAMMER Team, please contact:

District Chief Chad Turner, EMT-P
919-369-6074