- July 10, 2025
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When it came to their Florida Urban Search and Rescue training, the firefighters from East Manatee Fire Rescue didn't need any additional heat.
But Mother Nature had other ideas.
On a scorching June 12 on the training ground next to Station 1 in Lakewood Ranch, the firefighters were sweating through another day as they were completing their certification to earn their Rescue Specialist Certification.
"This is a long, grueling two weeks (of training)," said instructor Paul Arcuri, a FLUSAR Special Operations manager for the Broward Fire Academy. "It's intense out here."
Arcuri is a technical search specialist for the FEMA Search and Rescue team, which means he could be called upon at any time to provide aid in an emergency situation, such as the Surfside Condo collapse in 2021. There are two FEMA Search and Rescue Task Forces in Florida with specialists ready to be deployed anywhere in the world.
All the members of those teams had to earn their certifications just as the East Manatee firefighters were doing.
As Arcuri noted, only a select few get to join one of those two task force teams, which are both located in the Miami area. So the East Manatee firefighters might eventually be deployed in some other fashion.
Bob Mikulski, the division chief of training for the East Manatee Fire Rescue District, said his job is help the firefighters earn their certification. He said any future assignments related to that certification will be decided by the district down the road.
East Manatee obviously felt such certifications eventually will be important for the community it serves. Mikulski has worked on setting up the training for FLUSAR Operations Level for Structural Collapse and FLUSAR Technician Level for Structural Collapse for more than six months.
The FLUSAR training is divided up into 10 segments and for several East County firefighters, this segment completed their requirements.
The district first began moving toward having a Technical Rescue Team in 2014. The original team was made up of 18 firefighters who began taking the required training. Over the years, the district began hosting various training sessions.
Such training can be expensive to put together, but Mikulski has spent the last six months trying to find donations and discounts for the materials needed.
Mikulski said he eventually developed a relationship with the Broward County Fire Academy, which he calls a great match to develop the necessary programing. Area businesses wanted to help as well. For the just completed training, all the pipe that was used was donated as were the concrete slabs. Businesses also dropped off scrap metal.
JJ Crane, Synergy Equipment and Castelli Construction were all key contributors.
The businesses not only donated materials, but they dropped them off as well. Mikulski found companies that were offer big discounts on the various gasses they needed for the torches.
The main cost then becomes the lodging for the instructors, and any of the extras they need.
"It was a lot of work stretched over time," Mikulski said.
East Manatee's Technical Rescue Team now has about 24 members and 19 will be certified rescue specialists.
Mikulski offered examples of why such a team is important.
"Last year we offered a trench rescue (training)," he said. "That can be for something such as a man stuck in a hole at a construction site, or a cave-in."
The firefighters were cutting through various types of materials during the just-completed training session to be prepared for situations such as a building collapsing after a storm.
The firefighters practiced cutting through stone, concrete and metal surfaces to reach those in peril. And they practiced building wooden support structures inside a building ready to collapse.
Arcuri said the just completed course was a very labor-intensive 80 hours, and he said it was the toughest of the FLUSAR segments.
"There is a lot of cutting lumber and nailing nails," he said. "It is hot, and everybody is drained."
Mikulski was pleased to see East Manatee Fire Rescue personnel earning Rescue Specialist Certifications. He is retiring in 18 months.
