Published Wednesday, July 17, 2002
HERMITAGE
Herald Staff Writer
Mercer County may not have any skyscrapers to come tumbling down like the World Trade Center towers in New York City did on Sept. 11. But that doesn't mean local people couldn't find themselves trapped in a collapsed building.
With that in mind, local firefighters got some rescue training over the weekend. The two-day program, sponsored by Rescue Training International in New Hampshire, was "not the typical training program," said host fire chief, Hermitage Fire Marshal Robert S. Goeltz.
Goeltz said the fire department had received several phone calls since last fall's terrorist attacks, asking if local volunteers were prepared to deal with situations similar to those that occurred in New York and Washington, D.C.
"Because basically when you are dealing with confined-space rescue, you could be dealing with a building collapse," Goeltz said. "I don't even like to speak about the possibility of that, but you have to be prepared."
That's one of the reasons Goeltz said he and the department's deputy chief, Jim Reda, decided to offer the training to local fire departments and industries. Firefighters from Hermitage, Sharpsville, West Middlesex, Transfer and Sharon took part. Two or three industry representatives also were on hand for a total of 29 people.
Industries were invited because of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandate that no employee may enter a confined space without being specifically trained for it or at least having access to a confined-space entry team, Goeltz said.
"Confined-space entry teams are usually (from) the fire department, but they're not always trained for it, so we began to see a need for it," Goeltz said.
Subterranean-rescue training took place in a big vault under the station, said Goeltz. Small-opening entry training was through a simulated manhole fashioned from pipes.
"Even entering a manhole, there are proper safeguards," Goeltz said, explaining that rescuers should wear a harness that's attached to a tripod and a multi-gas testing meter should be lowered into the manhole to test for the presence of hazardous gases.
Other training included the dangers of confined-space incidents; proper protective equipment; dealing with hazardous materials in confined spaces; and victim rescue via vertical and horizontal entry.
"Even those of us who have some training in this field, this can only reinforce the training that we already have," said Goeltz.