City of Johnstown Fire Department Hazardous Materials (HazMat) team specializes in handling dangerous substances that could harm people, property, or the environment. These teams go beyond normal firefighting—they’re trained to deal with chemical, biological, radiological, and sometimes nuclear hazards.
The City of Johnstown Fire Department Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Team is also part of the The Cambria County S.H.A.R.P. (Special Hazards Assistance Response Program) Hazmat Team. A state-certified team based in Ebensburg, PA, providing specialized hazardous materials response services to the county's 63 municipalities. They operate 24/7/365 as part of the Cambria County Department of Emergency
A HazMat team is basically the fire department’s specialized science + emergency response unit. They protect the public from invisible or highly dangerous threats that regular firefighting crews aren’t equipped to handle.
A fire department technical rescue team is a specialized unit within a fire department trained to handle complex, high-risk rescue situations that go beyond standard firefighting or basic emergency response.
What makes it “technical”?
These teams deal with rescues that require advanced skills, special equipment, and detailed planning—often in dangerous or hard-to-reach environments.
Common types of technical rescues
They’re typically trained in several specialized areas, including:
- Rope rescue – saving people from cliffs, tall buildings, or confined vertical spaces
- Confined space rescue – entering tanks, sewers, or underground tunnels
- Trench rescue – rescuing people trapped in collapsed trenches or construction sites
- Structural collapse rescue – searching for and extracting victims from collapsed buildings (like after explosions or earthquakes)
- Swift water/flood rescue – saving people from fast-moving water
- Vehicle/machinery extrication – complex rescues involving heavy equipment or severe crashes
Training & standards
Johnstown Fire Department Technical Rescue Team follows guidelines from organizations like the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), especially NFPA 1006, which outlines professional qualifications for technical rescuers.
Equipment we use.
- Ropes, harnesses, and pulleys
- Hydraulic cutting/spreading tools
- Shoring systems (to stabilize structures)
- Search cameras and listening devices
- Boats and water rescue gear
Think of a technical rescue team as the “special forces” of the fire department—called in when a rescue is too dangerous or complicated for standard crews.
Water rescue teams in the U.S. are organized in tiers so they can respond effectively depending on the size, complexity, and location of an incident. The terms local, regional, and state refer to how broadly the team operates and how much capability they typically have.
The City of Johnstown Water Rescue Team operates as a Local Team serving the citizens of the City of Johnstown. We also operate as part of the Cambria County Swift Water Rescue Team providing Regional Water Rescue and State Water Rescue capabilities.
Local Water Rescue Team
A local team is based in a single municipality (like a city, town, or township fire department).
Key traits:
- Responds first to emergencies in its immediate area
- Usually part of a fire department, EMS, or rescue company
- Handles common incidents like:
- Vehicle in water
- Swiftwater rescues after storms
- Ice rescues in winter
Regional Water Rescue Team
A regional team serves multiple municipalities (like a county or multi-county area).
State Water Rescue Team
A state team operates across the entire state and is typically part of a statewide emergency response system.
- Key traits:
Managed or coordinated by state agencies like emergency management or state fire academies - Deployable anywhere in the state (and sometimes to other states under mutual aid agreements like FEMA deployments)
Key traits:
- Made up of personnel from several departments
- Activated when an incident is too complex for a single local team
- Often coordinated through county emergency management