As the temperatures climb, so do the number of rescue calls as people hit the trails, rivers or natural climbing rocks. A team made up of Sandoval County, Corrales and Rio Rancho firefighters is highly trained specifically for when even the most experienced outdoor enthusiasts find themselves in trouble.
The Rio Grande Basin Heavy Technical Rescue Team has been operation for about three years. They have about 30 human members, and in the fall they added their first K9 members.
“They'll do collapsed structures, extrications, trench rescue, confined space, all those specialized technical things you think about,” said David Farrell, a volunteer firefighter with the Sandoval County Fire Department.