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The Prince George Fire Fighter's
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With the increase in bridge and high-rise constuction, the Worker's Compensation Board of B.C. and the construction industry in general recently required that there be readily available rescue teams in place in the event of an accident or medical emergency on constuction sites. Though fire fighters have always prepared for and responded to these types of emergencies, as seen in Archived picture 25, it recently became necessary to form and train special rescue teams to perform what are often highly technical rescues.
The team was formed in late 1999 to provide high angle and tower crane rescue for the Construction Association of B.C. Members of the Association provided the initial funds for the training and equipment, and continue to provide a yearly stipend for additional training and replacement of the rescue equipment. |
| The type of rescue services that the team may be called upon to perform includes rescues from high rise buildings, bridges, cliff or cut-bank rescues, and rescues from construction sites. |
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The goal of the team is to bring a victim, or patient, safely to the ground where medical attendants can provide emergency care for them.
The fire fighters on the High Angle/Rope Rescue Team use climbing equipment such as ropes and harnesses, as well as rescue equipment like stretchers, pulleys, and lowering and lifting systems to do their job. In addition to the specialized equipment carried on the Fire/Rescue truck (R-10) team members are provided with personal gear bags containing such items as helmet, sit-harness, gloves, and various rope-rescue equipment that they would require if called upon to assist in a rescue. |
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The Rope Rescue team presently consists of 24 fire fighters trained to perform high angle rescues, and four instructors who are certified by the Justice Institue to instruct high-angle rope rescue and tower/crane rescue.
Members of the team maintain their spcecial skills by meeting every three months to pracitce as a team. The location of the excercies varies each time (ie. the cutbanks, a bridge or a highrise), to ensure that the excercises are as realistic as possible. |
| The members of the High Angle/Rope Rescue Team practice securing a patient into the sked stretcher during a training session. |
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| At this time the instructors for the Rope Rescue Team are captain Nick Stiles, fire fighters Drew Larsen, Mark Girard and Elden Gjerde. Team members include fire fighters Dennis Perrault, Mark Hill, Simon Gould, Larry Obst, Dean Aussem, Dan Pears, Eldon Gjerde, Fred Wilkinson, Glen Mueller, Paul Petersen and Rob Ingham. |
