About Us

RescUSA provides training to disaster responders in every Technical Rescue aspect, always in a realistic and comprehensive disaster-like setting. Our staff of experienced and highly skilled instructors deliver succinct and accurate knowledge, all while building confidence and team camaraderie among all participants. RescUSA has trained and built lasting relationships with military, industrial and fire service rescuers throughout the US and Europe.

RescUSA provides command level staffing, support and training to jurisdictions stricken with disasters, as well as consulting for those preparing for potential future challenges.

Customized Training

Customized training by our staff helped enable Denmark’s International USAR team to pass a strict evaluation and become internationally certified by the INSARAG Board.

Our training program will motivate your members to excel. Through positive instructor reinforcement, class participants will reach above and beyond their ‘comfort zone’, resulting in the most well-trained rescuer possible. 

All RescUSA training programs are NFPA and OSHA Standard compliant. 

For military, fire service and industrial participants, the RescUSA program instills the knowledge and skills necessary to enable disaster responders to perform as expert rescuers alongside any USAR team, or to operate safely and effectively as a stand-alone task force.

For those who perform daily duty functions in challenging, high-risk environments, particularly at heights above and below ground, as well as within confined spaces, RescUSA training programs are custom built specifically for our attendees.  At a minimum, every participant walks away with enhanced technical rescue skills, and the self confidence necessary to perform successfully under the worst circumstances.

RescUSA also serves our Army Corps of Engineers, utility providers and industrial clients by providing expert, fully equipped Rescue Standby teams for high-risk confined space entry operations.  All of our personnel are well seasoned career rescuers, with EMT and Paramedic certifications.  When deployed to your facility, RescUSA rescue personnel size-up and pre-rig all essential rescue systems long before any client personnel enter the space, then remain strategically positioned in the work space until everyone has exited the space at job completion.

Training Facility Capabilities

RescUSA has the knowledge, resources and expertise not only for training, but for training facility site creation as well. Our sites are designed to facilitate the training of first responders as well as US&R teams. RescUSA can assist on any, or all, levels of construction and utilization of your training site:

• Consulting Services: define facility requirements and training programs;

• Construction Services: build the facility and re-set props after use;

• Training Services: deliver course material and/or train-the trainer programs;

• Evaluation Services: observe and assess response capabilities to direct future training needs.

Evaluate responders readiness in accordance with NFPA 1670 and FEMA US&R established standards. From training facility concepts and construction to implementation and utilization, RescUSA offers all elements for realistic and relevant disaster responder training sites.

About Us

PRINCIPALS:

Tom Gaertner

Career Experience:

  • Task Force Leader, Illinois Task Force 1, Urban Search and Rescue Team
  • 39 Years Fire Service, Including Chief of Department for City of Broadview, IL and North Riverside, IL
  • Deputy Director, Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA)
  • United States Air Force

Overview

RescUSA, Inc. provides realistic comprehensive hands-on training, consulting, and training facility construction services for disaster responders all over the world.
Our training programs span every Urban Search and Rescue discipline specifically tailored to military response teams and personnel. Our customized disaster response consulting and training has been utilized by the United Stated Military, as well as both U.S. and European Task Force Groups and Urban Search and Rescue Teams.

Our Instructors

Our instructors have operated at major emergency incidents around the world, and use the knowledge gained during these incidents to create the most realistic and challenging training environment possible for our clients.

What sets us apart from other training providers is our staff of instructors and our customized approach to hands-on training. All of our instructors adhere to a high standard for professionalism, and all have extensive experience in their field.