Special Operations

Anne Arundel County Special Operations responds to and operates in environments and circumstances that pose unusual or exceptional hazards to first responders and the general public. The challenges of these environments are met through advanced training, specialized equipment, and operational policies that supplement or exceed those generally used in standard daily operations.

Hazardous Materials/Technical Rescue (HMTR) teams are based at Companies 4 and 23 and are supervised by Captain Baker and Captain Stanton. Services provided include hazardous materials mitigation, confined space rescue, structural collapse rescue and stabilization, trench rescue, and swift water and flood water emergency response.

Members of the Anne Arundel County HMTR teams helped to establish a large footprint in the region by coordinating and attending several multijurisdictional training exercises. The team hosted a week-long training event that brought technical rescue teams from the Annapolis Fire Department, Baltimore City Fire Department, Baltimore County Fire Department, Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue, and Prince George’s County Fire Department to conduct rope rescue training on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Teams used equipment to execute rescue scenarios from the road deck of the eastbound span as well as a catwalk under the bridge. Scenarios included lowering rescuers and victims from the bridge to Anne Arundel County Fire Department Fire Boat 19. The team also attended the NCT Pro X USA training exercises at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where they trained with other local jurisdictions, metropolitan fire departments, and foreign militaries.

The HMTR teams experienced a large turnover of personnel and welcomed several new members due in large part to the success of current team members who were promoted to the ranks of Lieutenant and Captain. The team hosted two MFRI rescue courses, trench rescue, and confined space rescue, to help streamline the onboarding of new members.

The team expanded its rescue capabilities by adding a Rescue Swimmer program. Ten members completed the training which consisted of swimming drills, pool instruction, open-water scenarios, and evaluations. 

The Dive Rescue Team is the primary dive resource for the 533 miles of shoreline in Anne Arundel County and is based at Company 8. The Dive Rescue Team consists of 44 divers from the Anne Arundel County Fire Department (34), Annapolis Fire Department (9), and the Anne Arundel County Police Department (1).

Our members are certified by an international organization as Dive Rescue Specialists. Two instructors train our members and divers from our regional partner agencies.

During 2024, we had 67 dive responses, including assisting with the response to the Key Bridge collapse, and conducted over 300 training dives. The divers also conducted over 300 hours of training on their new Munson 26’ PackCat Landing Craft.

In addition, the Anne Arundel County Dive team continued to support several large-scale organized events on the Chesapeake Bay, including the annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics, the United States Naval Academy graduation Blue Angels performance, the Chesapeake Bay Swim, and the Trident Swim to benefit families of fallen Navy SEALs.

The Marine Division prepared for the arrival of two new Fireboats and took delivery of the first Metalshark Defiant Class 50’ Aluminum Hull Fireboat in August 2024. The new 50’ x 16’ boats have twin inboard diesel waterjet propulsion, deliver a top speed of over 45 knots, and have an operating range of 250 nautical miles. The new vessels provide a flow rate above 8,500 gallons per minute for firefighting capability from a remote-operated electric rooftop monitor, two aft-mounted monitors, two aft dual handline outlets, and two 5” Storz hydrant outlets.

In preparation for the new boats' arrival, the majority of the marine division members completed the USCG OUPV 50-hour classroom course. After the first boat arrived, 57 marine-qualified personnel logged approximately 5000 hours of training before placing the new Metalshark FB19 in service on December 21, 2024.