By DeJanay Booth
Carlsbad Current-Argus
EDDY COUNTY, N.M. — Firefighters and emergency medical technicians practiced rope rescue on Saturday as part of a five-day training event.
Capt. Josh Mack of the Eddy County Fire Service, a training officer, said the training prepares emergency responders to rescue people using a rope system.
The training is important for rescues in dangerous and difficult situations, including rescues in water, from confined spaces and that require carrying someone who has fallen down a steep hill.
On Saturday, the group trained on a steep hill behind La Tienda Supermarket.
“You’ll think you can walk up there (the hill) easily. But if you’re trying to carry somebody that is injured, it’s different,” Mack said. “My goal was to up our level of training. The goal was to develop one big team, although we are in separate departments. If we work as a team, we get more accomplished.”
The training is operated by Arroyo Rescue, based in Farmington.
Capt. Josh Rauh of the Lenexa Fire Department in Lenexa, Kansas, said there are many different roles on a rescue team. Participants learned to fill those roles, rotating between being a rescuer, acting as a rigging guy, working the belay rope and between the haul team. Rauh said the rigging guy is positioned between the rescuers and belay to ensure rescuers are lowered at a reasonable speed.
“If the rigging guy loses control (of the ropes), then you have belay (to fall back on),” Rauh said.
The haul team, which consist of about five personnel, are put in place to assist the exit of the team of rescuers. If rescuers encounter a problem, then they must yell “stop.”
Trainees also learned to transfer a rescuer to another rope line.
“If somebody (a rescuer) is stuck on their own system, then the other can repel down and transfer them to another rope,” Mack said.
Mack said he initiated the training after several volunteer firefighters approached him about rope rescue. He said the class was designed for 12 emergency personnel; however, he received responses from 30 people.
There are 24 persons in the current class and include personnel from Carlsbad and Artesia fire departments and volunteer fire departments from north and south of Eddy County.
Mack said there are two types of training: operations and technicians.
Those in operations training are expected to complete the class on Sunday and technician training will end on Tuesday. Both classes teach the same techniques, Mack said; however, technicians will have advanced training on Monday and Tuesday.
Mack said he plans to conduct another rope rescue training later this year.
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