FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
Four members of Fort Eustis' Fire Department put their technical rescue skills to the test alongside the region's finest at the 2012 Virginia State Rescue Challenge May 6-10 in Central Virginia.
The rigorous, week-long crucible tested the abilities of technical rescue operators from across Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Ft. Eustis' quartet joined forces with the 911th Engineer Company from Fort Belvoir, Va., to form a 16-person team, the smallest of the 28 teams participating.
According to Mike Collius, Felker Army Airfield fire station chief and participant at the challenge, the teams completed scenarios including high-angle rope rescue, confined space rescue, vehicle passenger extraction and rescue, and building collapse rescues, among others.
One scenario saw operators rescue a King's Dominion amusement park maintenance technician that had fallen from the roller coaster track during a pre-ride inspection. The team had to deploy "high lines" to the stranded technician and extract him from the ride before he fell. Another scenario sent the team into a tornado-ravaged area ripe with hazards and victims, including a damaged radio tower, victims stranded in a lake, and passengers trapped in vehicles crushed by shipping containers.
Jason Percy, a Eustis-based firefighter also on the team, said the events were designed to be "worst-case scenarios."
"[The facilitators] wanted to make these rescues as difficult as possible," he said. "There aren't any short cuts in these situations. We were being critiqued the entire time, and safety is critical."
"No two fires are the same, and no two rescues are the same. There are always variables," Collius explained. "Of the five different modules, the facilitators can twist these scenarios any way they want, and often do."
"This isn't where you come to train; this is where you come to execute what you've been trained to do," he added.
While there was no winner crowned in any sort of competition, Collius said his team performed "extremely well," and was prepared for the challenges they faced.
"We impressed the folks there. We finished all but one our scenarios, and with plenty of time to spare," he said.
Collius added that the rescuers were told to be prepared to respond should a real emergency occur.
"If something happened while we were training, they wanted to pull us out and have us go real-world," he said. "They were that confident in us."
Collius and Percy said qualified technical rescue operators are rare due to the cost and difficulty of training. As a result, the Rescue Challenge presented a excellent opportunity to network with other professionals and learn new techniques and tools of the trade to take back with them.
"You learn new tricks seeing the different ways people do things," Percy said. "We saw the kinds of equipment they used [at the challenge] last year, came back and ordered that equipment. We were able to see what our strengths and needs are."
"You walk in with a little toolbox, and you know what do by the book," Collius added. "When you leave, your toolbox ix a lot bigger. Every year I learn something new."