“We weren’t able to get boats into places to rescue people, and so some people were stranded for a while. We could have used this tool a lot during that time,” Armstead said. “You don’t have to look back more than a few years to see the floods that Nashville had. There are numerous situations for which the team could be deployed ranging from difficult-to-reach accident sites to major natural disasters. It will save both the fire department and highway patrol resources.” “When we get the training and all the certifications through them, we won’t have to do the same with Highway Patrol. “Putting people through this type of training costs a lot of money, and we’ve been able to get this training through the Army Guard for free,” Armstead said. The partnership also has other benefits for all three agencies involved. “Both of Station 12 and Station 22 are located within less than five minutes from where the helicopters are at Nashville International Airport and the State Highway Patrol has an office there as well across the street from TANG,” Armstead said. Everybody talking and working together makes it a lot smoother transition into a bona fide team.”Īrmstead said the HART team will be based out of the National Guard location near the Nashville Airport. Two of our rescuers will also be on board with that team. With the Highway Patrol, they have a trooper who flies the helicopter who has a crew chief that is another state trooper. They will provide the pilot and the crew to help assist us in rescue efforts. Once the program is at 100% there will be five aircrafts dedicated to the TN-HART mission from TANG. With the TN-HART team, the aircraft will be managed by the Army Guard. “Our Station 12 is more well-rounded special operations company in that they do HazMat/CBRNe and technical rescue programs while Station 22 is specifically a swift water and water rescue group. “The teams will consist of two special ops companies here with the Nashville Fire Department, Station 12 and Station 22,” Armstead said. NFD will be supplying two fire fighters teams to work alongside THP and Army National Guard officials. Some of our friends in the Army National Guard heard what we were doing and offered to help with training, financing the team, and so forth. “About a year and a half ago, we started looking into the possibility of a helicopter rescue team with THP. “We have been working with Tennessee Highway Patrol for six years now, and have a partnership with them going back to the 1970s that was more unofficial,” Armstead said. Nashville Fire Department Special Ops Captain Michael Armstead said the idea was first proposed by officials with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) as part of ongoing partnerships the agency has with the Nashville Fire Department. TN-HART will be used to deploy into the “harshest environments” and help citizens in need across Tennessee. The Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (TN-HART) and current Helicopter Technical Rescue Team will be staffed by members of each of the three agencies. The Nashville Fire Department is teaming up with the Tennessee Army National Guard (TANG) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) to create two new helicopter technical rescue teams that can be deployed statewide.