Volunteers prepare for a variety of high-risk rescues
The Sussex County Technical Rescue team is ready at a moment's notice to respond.
Volunteers from all over the county devote countless hours of training above and beyond regular training they put in as volunteer firefighters or other first responders.
Teams in each county work as a statewide unit. They are made up of firefighters and public safety members who conduct rescues in high-angle and low-angle rope climbing, confined spaces, trenches, swift water, structural collapse and large animal rescues.
On May 26, the unit conducted a structural collapse training exercise at a vacant house in Lewes, donated by Bill and Bryce Lingo. Located near the Showfield development on Monroe Avenue, the house will be used later this year for burn-rescue training.
It's rare that teams get an opportunity to train in an intact house, said Glenn Marshall, Sussex County EMS special operations coordinator and public information officer. “We are very thankful to the Lingo family,” he said.
Among the observers was Bob Murray, a member of a federal urban search and rescue team based in Philadelphia, who has a seasonal home in the Cape Region.
“After 9-11, all the states realized they needed to come on board to create a national profile for training,” he said. “Delaware has stepped it up to another level to meet national standards.”
Murray said during the May 26 drill, the team was working on very specialized skills to shore up a building, which would be needed in a variety of circumstances, including flooding or other natural disasters or a gas explosion. They make it safe for emergency responders to do their work.
“Like anything, the more they use it and practice, the better they are. Today, they can identify what they are doing well and learn what to fix,” he said. “Fortunately, the teams don't get a lot of calls. But when they do, it's for high-stress, high-risk situations.”
One of those calls occurred two years ago.
To aid in the investigation, in September 2016 the team was called in to secure the buildings where three Wilmington firefighters died fighting a fire that was ruled arson. “It was very tedious and very dangerous, time-consuming work,” Murray said.
Among the exercises during the day - using construction and engineering skills - the team built a brace system of wood to secure a door frame for entry into the house. It's not an easy task. It takes precise measurements, including angles, to build a load-bearing frame to secure a door for safe access.
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/Sussexcountytechnicalrescueteam.
