Members of the Technical Rescue team bring down a rescued “victim” from the building. (Photos by Maggie Kenworthy)
WARSAW — The Warsaw Fire Department has a group of firefighters specially trained for extreme rescue situations. The Technical Rescue team met today to train on a building set for demolition.
During the training, the team simulated a collapsed building situation. The team placed “victims” on each floor of the building and had to rescue them safely. The process involved many technical movements like cutting entry points through the roof and floors and shoring for building stabilization.
“The more we practice today, the quicker and safer we will be in the future,” said Aaron Bolinger
Warsaw fire battalion chief. “It’s what the citizens need and it’s what we are here to do.”
While everyone in the department is trained for rope rescues and confined space rescues, members of the technical rescue team can also perform collapsed building and trench rescues. To join a technical rescue team, each member must have around 300 additional hours of training along with constantly practicing the techniques. Currently, Warsaw is home to the only Technical Rescue team in Kosciusko County.
In September, the Warsaw Technical Rescue team will travel to Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in southern Indiana. There the team will participate in similar rescue missions to validate their training. By validating their training, the team will be able to assist in rescue operations that occur in Indiana or other locations.
“The folks in Warsaw have no idea what their fire department can really do,” said Bolinger. “What we are actually capable of doing involves so many activities across the spectrum.”
