Hard at work: Fire and Rescue trains on structural rescue operations

Feb. 9—Sometimes, all you need is good, old-fashioned physics to lift a 20,000-pound cement block.

On Thursday, the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services Technical Rescue Team (TRT) was learning how to do just that, and much more, during a 40-hour Structural Collapse Operations certification course.

Hard, plastic air bags — which TRT leader Capt. Bob McCaa calls "ravioli" — were used to make room for lumber wedges to be slid under the heavy block. Then, there's just enough room for a pinch bar to get underneath. Once that pinch bar was under the concrete slab, two men used their weight to lift the block.

The TRT is composed of 42 career members and 7 volunteer members, McCaa said. They practice skills like securing structures, or moving extremely heavy concrete. The team also specializes in confined space rescues, like trenches, and high-angle rescues.

The team started training on Monday.

Fire Chief Tom Coe said training like this allows Fire and Rescue to be prepared for nearly anything.

"We've got to be ready to be the immediate first responders to any danger that our citizens face," he said. "And with the advent of natural disasters, your earthquake in Turkey, you know, the firefighters in Turkey are absolutely the first responders to begin the rescue process there."

The training is typically done out of Virginia Beach, Virginia, but this was the first time the training was happening directly in Frederick County, Battalion Chief Lt. Lenne Stolberg said. The training and future rescues are a community effort.

Rinker Materials, a concrete contractor, donated the giant concrete blocks and pipes for the team to practice on.

Digging and Rigging, a crane rental agency, was at the training center to simulate certain scenarios in which the team and a crane operator would have to work together to save someone.

Stolberg said there's an unofficial partnership with Digging and Rigging, which the county can call anytime for a crane for a rescue operation. Hopefully in the next fiscal year, the TRT can get training to work more closely with cranes, he said.

"They provide 24-hour emergency assistance, so it doesn't matter if it's two o'clock Sunday morning, if we call them, they'll get somebody out to help us with whatever we need," he said.

While Fire and Rescue hasn't had to deal with earthquake rubble or an entirely collapsed building, the skills they learn can be used in other instances, McCaa said.

The most common is when a vehicle crashes into a building, which has already happened six times this year, he said.

"Previously, if a car slammed into a structure, the most that we might be able to accomplish is putting up a hazard tape," he said. "Now, we can actually secure the structure ... "

Firefighter Lt. Chris Prestia felt lucky to be on the TRT and taking the course. It's great to be part of a team working together to solve a problem, he said.

Prestia said he got involved with the TRT to better serve Frederick County. There are more natural disasters, and the team should be prepared, he said. The county is also getting bigger with more people to serve.

"Because of the size of Frederick County now, we're getting to that point where we should be able to better serve our citizens by having these capabilities and immediately providing it to our citizens versus standing around and waiting for Montgomery and Howard County," he said.

As a fire medic, Chester Podd III said, these skills are essential for what he does, since he will need to get to a patient to treat them.

"I'm probably going to be going down into a tiny hole or hanging outside the building or into pipes and stuff, and then making access with the patient," he said.

Podd said some of the skills they practiced Thursday he knew a little about. The course went into more depth to better prepare them for real-world experiences, he said.

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel