VIDEO: A crew with the Grand Junction Fire Department recently did some training to prepare for a worst-case scenario, if thereโs a downed firefighter. Firefighters with Station One turned their own station into a training ground for some Rapid Intervention Team practice.
โThis would be a worst-case scenario for us if one of our brothers or sisters potentially goes down in a structure fire. We need to go in and rescue them, particularly something like this. Thatโs what we call a low-risk high-consequence event. We want to make sure weโre doing everything necessary to prepare well for that,โ said Erik Schuelke, a Firefighter, EMT with GJFD.
For the training, they take a hose and stretch it out and wrap it underneath their rescue truck and in between some obstacles theyโve built. They follow the hose to find the firefighter in need, then try to bring them to a safe place. To make the scenario more stressful, the firefighters wear blackout masks, and loud music is blasted to simulate the kind of distracting, high-pressure environment they might face on a real scene.
โIf we never practice it when the moment comes, youโll have less experience at that task. So, trying to make our training as difficult and as stressful as possible, hopefully, if we get into that real-life situation, itโll be a lot easier for us at that time,โ said Schuelke.
Schuelke said they try to have a schedule to try and get their hands on training like this around once a month. He also said this practice is separate from any required training they do.
