Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are deservedly known for not only being highly trained and specially equipped but also adaptable and resourceful during extremely dynamic situations. However, when a structure fire occurs during a critical incident, it adds a layer of complexity most SWAT teams are ill-prepared for, consequently leading to operational delays that make mission success that much more difficult to achieve. To counter such circumstances, this presentation will describe what extraordinary resources fire service personnel, apparatus, and equipment can be within tactical environments and how they can be safely and efficiently utilized to mitigate a variety of unconventional challenges.

Jim Etzin is the Emergency Medical Services Coordinator for the Farmington Hills (MI) Fire Department and Oakland County Tactical Training Consortium (OakTac), a mutual aid organization comprised of 40 law enforcement agencies serving approximately 1.3 million people. He is also the founder of the International Tactical EMS Association (ITEMS) and served as a United States Navy corpsman during combat operations in Operation Desert Storm and then as a full-time combat medicine instructor for the 1st Marine Division. After becoming the first Corpsman to ever attend the United States Marine Corps Military Police School and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) School, he then served as both an operator and medic for the only full-time Marine Corps SWAT team at the time. In the immediate aftermath of the infamous North Hollywood Bank of America takeover robbery and shootout in 1997, two years prior to the incident at Columbine High School, Etzin was the first in the United States to conceptualize what's now known as the Rescue Task Force approach to casualty management within such environments. He has been studying, practicing, and teaching active assailant response and tactical medicine for 35 years and is consequently considered a subject matter expert on not only the history of these events but also how to best mitigate them tactically and medically.