CT Firefighters Practice Tree Rescues
By Sarah Gordon
Source The Day, New London, Conn. (TNS)
Sep. 18—NORWICH — As he swung from a tree in Mohegan Park on Wednesday, Jason Erban yelled down to the ground.
"I watched a YouTube video the other week and now I'm stuck up here!" he said.
A group of firefighters, wearing hardhats and harnesses yelled questions up to Erban, an instructor with Vector Rescue, about his equipment and if he was injured. Meanwhile, they assessed his situation and tried to figure out a way to help him down.
It was the final segment of a two-day Arborist Rescue for First Responders training presented by Vector Rescue. Firefighters from across the state including Norwich, were trained on how to help arborists and homeowners out of trees they can't access with a ladder or truck.
"It's more common than not," said Erban, who is also the Norwich Fire Department's director of training, about tree rescues. He noted medical emergencies may also occur while in the tree.
"We hear a lot of people cutting themselves with a saw or having another sort of medical emergency while up there," he said, "and in those cases it's all the more important to ascend the tree, deliver patient care and safely lower them back to the ground.
The Associated Press reported at least three people have died from a falling tree this year in Connecticut, according to information from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The news service reported that on Monday, tree worker Timothy Healy, 50, of Naugatuck, was killed after being caught under a tree that had fallen in an unintended direction.
The program was developed as a collaboration between Vector Rescue, a ropes rescue training company, and Emmons Tree & Landscaping Service of New Milford, and has traveled to multiple states over the past four years.
The classes included an introduction to arborist equipment, how to assess a tree, how to set up lines to climb ropes and limb walk. It also focused on using tools that fire departments already own.
"We want to make sure they can replicate these things they've learned here when they go back to work," said Erban.
Wednesday afternoon's session included two scenarios.
In the first scenario, an injured arborist was stuck in the tree and hanging by his fall prevention lanyard. Firefighters had to throw their own ropes up, send rescuers up to assess his condition and then release him from his device before lowering him to the ground.
In the second scenario, a worker was on a limb with a medical emergency. The team had to climb up, navigate laterally across limbs, assess the worker, unpin him from his gear and lower him to safety.
The teams completed the tasks in around 20 minutes.
"Climbing is the last resort," said Erban, "we're training our firefighters and first responders to get up into the trees and climb and work from the ground up."
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