Augusta's Rescue Truck.
The rescue section of the Augusta Department of Public Safety (ADPS) is an extension of the
Butler County Rescue Squad, based in El Dorado. Our agency joined forces with the
Butler County Rescue Squad in 1993 to help with rescue coverage for Butler County.
Prior to the inception of our rescue section, Butler County had one rescue squad based
in El Dorado. This unit covered the entire county, which incidentally is the largest
county in the State of Kansas. This created a situation where someone involved in a motor
vehicle accident in the southwest corner of the county may have to be trapped in a car for
30 minutes or more waiting on a unit with tools and training required to conduct the
extrication.
Based on this time issue, we looked into and eventually joined forces with the Butler
County Rescue Squad. Our members went through the training for specialized rescue practices
and acquired equipment necessary to perform the basic functions of a rescue squad. Since
the initial inception, officers have attended more training and have trained in specialized
areas such as rope rescue, high angle rescue, water rescue and recovery, and ice rescue.
Our department works closely with the Butler County Rescue Squad and now responds to routine
incidents in the southern portion of the County, and large-scale incidents throughout the
County. In 2004, the ADPS Rescue Section responded to 19 calls and conducted 7 extrications.
For more statistics, see the ADPS Statistics Page.
In addition to Augusta, Andover and Rose Hill (both in southwestern Butler County) have
established similar units and have become part of the group. Efforts by all the various
agencies have ensured that a rescue unit is not far behind first in units when needed.
