The Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Service in Chattanooga, Tennessee (CHCRS) specializes in cave rescue, surface rope rescue, search and rescue, and wilderness medical evacuation. CHCRS maintains three response vehicles equipped with over 8,000 feet of rope, hardware bags stocked with equipment used for building rope systems with a mechanical advantage, and the necessary tools to modify a cave during a rescue. In addition, these vehicles are equipped with all of the most sophisticated patient packaging, immobilization and transport equipment, including a mobile heart monitor, warm air inhalator and airway kit.

Their medical team has been credited with saving countless lives both above and below ground. CHCRS’s ability to provide advanced life support care deep inside a cave is a service unique to the Cave/Cliff Unit and sets their standard of care apart from any other cave rescue team in the United States.

CHCRS trained with Landmark Learning is Swiftwater rescue primarily because there are hundreds of wet caves in their response area. Most of those caves have running water and we need to be prepared to rescue people from those environments. CHCRS also falls under the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management and could be called upon to assist with rescues during a widespread flooding event in our area.  With the addition of Swiftwater rescue capabilities, CHCRS is now a FEMA contact for a call-out on technical rescues east of the Colorado Rockies. #SwifwaterRescue #Specialops #AmericanCanoeAssociation