VIDEO/PHOTOS: Oklahoma City firefighters with the Urban Search & Rescue team trained to rescue someone from a suspended car Tuesday at their training grounds off N. Portland Avenue to prepare for scenarios they said have increased across the U.S. โThis would kind of simulate a training where a semi-truck or a vehicle was over the side of the interstate or any elevated surface,โ Maj. Owen Wiggins with the Oklahoma City Fire Departmentโs Urban Search and Rescue team said. While mostly rare, Wiggins said the increase across the U.S. and even dealing with a handful here in the city in the past has brought them to hold training as a refresher for their team. From five stories high, crews drop down with the Jaws of Life to a car hovering right around the first floor of their training tower.
โIt adds like a completely different dynamic to the type of rescue,โ Wiggins said. The goal of getting the training dummy out is simple. However, itโs much harder than that. โOne, theyโre working off of a rope,โ Wiggins said. โSo, theyโre having to kind of move themselves around without really being, you know, firm feet on the ground and theyโre also having to work with that heavy tool thatโs off of a rope.โ
Balancing a sense of urgency with safety is key. The situation Tuesday might not always be exactly what youโd run into during a real world rescue, but they modify it at times, too. โWe want to mimic real world scenarios, but also we want it to be difficult so that when the rescue comes, it may be a simpler scenario and weโll be that much more prepared,โ Wiggins said. The Urban Search & Rescue squads also do training on trench, swift water and confined space rescues. They usually try to do each of them on a quarterly basis throughout the year.
