In order to accomplish the rescue or medivac mission, Fire Station 32, also located on the airport, provides rescue paramedics for the helicopter. These are the highly trained firefighters you often see dangling on a very small cable rescuing people in very dangerous places.
The rescue medics train for ocean rescue, cliff or mountain rescue and swift water rescue, day or night, rain or shine, and in the snow. These firefighters also provide a support role during fire operations such as cutting and staffing landing spots on wildland fires or filling the helicopter’s water tank for night fire suppression missions. Station 32 also provides the staffing for the helicopter fuel truck. This is especially crucial for the fire mission. This allows the helicopter to fuel close to the fire incident allowing a very quick return to dropping water.
The ASU has helicopters capable of performing all fire, rescue and medivac missions. The ASU helicopters are equipped with water dropping tanks that carry 320 gallons of water. These helicopters can pump water from a reservoir or other suitable water source or can be filled on the ground with fire hose. The helicopters have rescue hoists to rescue people in precarious places and carry a full complement of medical equipment to treat the sick or injured either on the ground or in the air. During high fire season, the helicopters have the ability to transport fire crews to inaccessible locations.