VIDEO/PHOTOS: Escambia County Fire Rescue is braving the heat this week. They’re taking part in a 40-hour training course to better prepare themselves for high-rise rescues. ECFR is finishing up their aerial operations certification this week. They’ve been honing in on crucial skills that will help them save lives. Plenty of buildings around Pensacola are several stories high. But what happens in an emergency? Escambia County Fire Rescue has the answer. This week, they enrolled in an in-depth 40-hour program that certifies them to use complex equipment, like trucks with tower ladders. “And really the premise of it is for them to have the confidence to operate these things and rescue people from high-rise buildings,” said Eric Wheaton. “I mean, think at the beach side at Pensacola Beach you have a lot of high-rise buildings that are out of reach of a traditional ladder. These aerial devices, some reach upwards of 100 feet, to be able to rescue people out of those situations.”
