Firefighters perform tower rescue

Photo By Cpl. Nathan Reyes | Members of the Fire and Emergency Division, French Creek Station 5 were dispatched between June 19 and June 23 to rescue a man stuck on top of a radio tower at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The victim was suffering from a heat-related injury and was safely transported to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Nathan Reyes)  

NC, UNITED STATES

06.23.2017

Story by Pfc. Nathan Reyes 

Marine Corps Installations East       

Members of the Camp Lejeune Fire and Emergency Service Division rescued a man experiencing a heat injury while working on the top of a radio tower at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, last week.
“We got the call to an individual that was up on a radio tower and in distress,” said Glenn Zurek, Deputy Fire Chief. “The individual was approximately 160 feet above the ground and we needed to get him down.”
The firefighters performed a tower rescue. A tower rescue is a technique involving sending a member of the fire division to the top of the tower to retrieve an induvial.
“We needed to get him down from the tower and back down to the ground so we could transport him to the Naval Hospital,” said Zurek.
The Camp Lejeune Fire and Emergency Service Division trains to handle various types of situations.
“We are an all hazards response agency,” said Zurek. “We respond to fires, [emergency medical services] calls, technical rescues, water rescues and wild fires,” said Zurek.
All of the firefighters are hazard and emergency medical services trained. Select members undergo additional training to be a part of special rescue teams.
“All of our employees are at the basic firefighter level and hazards material trained as well as emergency medical services trained,” said Shannon Orndorff, Assistant Chief of Training. “In order to be on one of the technical rescue teams [firefighters] are provided specialized training in either rope rescue, confined space rescue, water rescue or dive rescue.
Training is continuous for the members of the Fire and Emergency Service Division.
“Our training plan outlines our daily in service training, our reoccurring training and our monthly training for our technical rescue teams,” said Orndorff.
Although training is a large part of a firefighter’s career they can never be over prepared to save someone’s life.
“We do it for the love of the fire service and being able to help those that need our assistance,” said Zurek.

• Date Taken: 06.23.2017
• Date Posted: 09.27.2017 15:40
• Story ID: 242016
• Location: NC, US