Davenport and Muscatine firefighters trained for confined space rescue recently with International Association of Firefighter instructors that involved creating elevated anchor points, crawling through simulated sewers and using rope systems down an incline.
Of the 20 firefighters involved in the training, 17 were from Davenport Fire with the handful remaining coming from Muscatine Fire.
Though the high-angle/low-angle training didn’t use a steep surface, the rope skills firefighters practiced could be used off the side of a building.
During the simulated sewer training, firefighters were lowered into a manhole and work their way through large tubes to a dummy that serves as a victim. They had to secure the victim, move them through the tubes and up the manhole.
The elevated anchor training involved using two extension ladders lashed together, then stabilized by securing them to trees so that it can hold the weight of a firefighter or more.
The IAFF instructors were provided at no cost for the training that is estimated to be about $5,000 per firefighter.