NAS Jacksonville Firefighters Train for Rope Rescue/Confined Space Operations
Photo By Nicholas Davis |
From left, Firefighter John Fahling of First Coast Navy Fire and Emergency Services......read moreread more
Photo By Nicholas Davis | From left, Firefighter John Fahling of First Coast Navy Fire and Emergency Services Mayport, Firefighter Cruz Armendariz of Navy Fire and Emergency Services NAS Jacksonville, and Senior Airman Jacob LaPlante, a firefighter at Ellswork Air Force Base, South Dakota, work as a team to hoist a victim up the side of a building during training at Florida State College at Jacksonville Fire Academy of the South, Sept. 27. see less
| View Image Page
NAS Jacksonville Firefighters Train for Rope Rescue/Confined Space Operations
In an effort to save costs and provide invaluable training, First Coast Navy Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) Jacksonville hosted a Mobile Training Team (MTT) from Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy at Goodfellow Air Force Base (AFB), Texas to offer an 18-day Rescue Technician Certification Course.
The rescue technician instructors are active duty enlisted firefighters who teach a physically and mentally challenging curriculum filled with rescue rope, high/low angle rescues, and confined space rescue training that includes both written and practical evaluations throughout the course. Four firefighters from Naval Air Station Jacksonville are participating in the training, along with three firefighters from Naval Station Mayport and four active duty Air Force firefighters from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, Moody AFB, Georgia and Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
While much of the training has been held aboard the station, the group also spent several days at the Florida State College of Jacksonville Fire Academy of the South practicing different rescue missions off tops of buildings and within confined spaces.
“The training is 18 days, 8 hours a day. We start out with basic firefighter knowledge which is what you learn in firefighter school,” said Department of Defense (DoD) Rescue Technician Instructor Tech Sgt. Trevor Williams. “We go over basic knot-tying and practice how to use those knot-tying skills to create anchors. Then we start utilizing pulleys and carabiners to make our mechanical advantages. Each stage builds on the next. We teach firefighters how to descend/ascend rappelling off buildings. We also practice basket operations so if someone falls down a steep terrain and breaks a leg, we would be able to rescue them safely. Then we get into more advanced stuff like building high-lines between two points. During the final week, we practice getting victims out of confined spaces.”
“I’ve been here for one year and am new to the structural side of firefighting. I previously worked for the U.S. Forest Department out west so I mainly worked wild landfires,” said Firefighter Cruz Amerdariz with First Coast Navy F&ES Jacksonville. “I think this training is very exciting and gives me a better understanding of what our capabilities are. It also makes me feel more comfortable working with the crew because they are highly experienced so it’s definitely a good experience for me.”
After the firefighters complete the training, they become certified in Rope Rescue I and II, and Confined Space I and II disciplines. These certifications will enhance their department’s ability to provide additional expertise during high/low angle and confined space emergencies.
“Our department has a ladder truck, but we also have some tall buildings that the truck can’t get to and this training could be very beneficial here,” said First Coast Navy F&ES Jacksonville Assistant Chief of Training John Ogletree. “And, we have many confined space areas including aircraft, construction areas and sewer systems where we might have to perform rescue operations.”
“We are very fortunate to be able to hold this rescue training here and thank our leadership and the MTT for allowing us to have it at NAS Jacksonville. Usually, all DoD firefighter training takes place at Fire Academy at Goodfellow AFB,” added Ogletree. “By conducting this advanced training here, it was a cost savings of more than $20K in travel costs. And, by hosting it here, it allows the instructors and students to change some of their scenarios and look at them differently than what they usually see at the more controlled DoD Fire Academy’s training ground.”
