Temple, TX — Temple Fire and Rescue conducted some special training Thursday.
In preparations for the looming Interstate 35 expansion project, the department felt Thursday was a good day to have crews train in confined spaces.
Members from different fire crews joined together to rescue a person out of a manhole.
A tripod is set to anchor the pulley system.
Crews then carefully rig the rescuer with an oxygen tank and ropes before lowering him.
He then attaches the victim to a harness and relays to the rest of the crew to lift them up.
It’s a situation that rarely occurs, which is precisely why training is needed every so often.
“This is one of those low frequency, high risk events that we encounter in our department," explained Captain Leroy Vargas. "We don’t have these types of rescues everyday like we have with EMS calls. An EMS call- we’re prepared for that. A fire call- we’re prepared for that. But those special operations events that we see are so infrequent and they bring high risk to them.”
Examples of confined space locations can be found in manufacturing, underground utilities and road construction sites.
The department holds specialized training throughout the year.