DCFD No. 2 firefighters will be practicing simulated over-the bank rescue scenarios this coming Wednesday and Thursday (August 14th and 15th) from 09:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the fish ladder area of the Winchester Dam in north Roseburg.
Some of the rescue calls firefighters are called to each year involve motor vehicle accidents, all-terrain vehicles, and farm equipment sliding down embankments; or boaters stranded in areas of rivers and creeks to which there is no easy access by the water.
Deputy Chief Bullock said “the kind of scenarios practiced represent closely the type of terrain and degree of difficulty encountered by firefighters several times every year when responding to rescue calls.”
Members of the District’s Technical Rescue Team will train their fellow firefighters, who will have the opportunity to utilize specialized rescue equipment and practice a number of rope-related techniques to reach and pull injured parties to safety.
Because of their nature, over the bank rescues demand good familiarization with equipment to be used, close attention to safety practices, and require also a significant number of firefighters to participate to ensure their success. Firefighters are undergoing this training to increase their responsiveness to the public.
DCFD2 maintains a Technical Rescue Team that responded in 2012 to 6 such requests from the public in the District’s service area. Its members also respond to requests for rescue from other jurisdictions in Douglas County.