The Cincinnati Fire Department placed their first specialized rescue unit into service in 1918, when Engine 52 was reorganized as Squad 52. The unit went by this name until 2006, when the identifier changed to Squad 14 to reflect the station where the apparatus was quartered. At that time, a second heavy rescue was placed into service - Ladder 14 was reorganized as Squad 9. In 2011, the unit designation was changed to "Rescue" which follows the standard nomenclature used by the rest of the fire departments in Hamilton County.
Each unit responds to special (technical) rescue incidents including collapse rescue, trench rescue, high angle rescue, extrication (motor vehicle/machinery) and hazardous material incidents. Rescue 14 responds to one alarm fires in the southern half of the city and Rescue 9 responds to one alarm fires in the northern half of the city. Both units respond to any extra alarm fires.