The Ouachita Parish Fire Department currently has 21 certified firefighters on the Region 8 Urban Search and Rescue team and 10 firefighters in the certification process. These firefighters are trained and equipped to respond to all major hazards including:
- Weapons of mass destruction
- Terrorist attacks
- Structural collapse
- Trench rescue incidents
- Vehicle rescue incidents
- Rope rescue 1 and 2 (high and low angle rescues)
- Confined space rescue
- Water rescue (flood and swift water rescue)
Past Deployments:
- 2016: Ouachita Parish and Baton Rouge, LA floods
- 2017: Hurricane Irma (Jacksonville, FL) and Hurricane Harvey (Port Arthur, TX)
- 2018: Hurricane Florence (South Carolina) and Hurricane Michael (Panama City, FL)
- 2019: Hurricane Dorian (Jacksonville, FL)
- 2020: Hurricane Marco and Hurricane Laura (Lafayette, LA) and Hurricane Zeta (South Louisiana)
- 2021: Hurricane Ida (South Louisiana)
