A team of three Pasadena firefighters and one Glendale firefighter headed to Northern California on Wednesday lend a hand, and a specially equipped rescue vehicle, to their counterparts battling the 5,400-acre Crews Fire north of Gilroy, officials said.
The firefighters make up one of the departments’ new Rapid Extraction Module Support teams, tasked with finding and rescuing downed firefighters and others during emergencies, Pasadena Fire Department officials said. It includes three firefighters and a captain, and was deployed as part of the California Fire Assistance Agreement.
The REMS team concept was launched in California several years ago, Pasadena Fire Department Interim Chief Bryan Frieders explained. Pasadena’s first REMS crew members were trained over the past year.