By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
When disaster strikes from above or below, Hays firefighters are ready thanks to rope rescue training that pushes precision and trust to the limit.
The Hays Fire Department participated in a weeklong rope rescue training course led by the Kansas Fire and Rescue Training Institute at its training grounds Monday through Friday.
Matt Breininger, special operations training coordinator, said firefighters have been training together in rope rescue techniques and preparing for a national certification exam.
"Hays Firefighters are going above and beyond normal everyday firefighting responsibilities," Breninger said.
The training equips Hays Fire Department personnel to meet National Fire Protection Association standards required for state technical rescue teams.
Firefighters trained on anchor systems and high-angle rope operations. Breininger said a vital aspect of the training is its adaptability to allow multiple agencies to work together during emergency responses.
"That's a nice part about having KFRTI standardized curriculum that we teach to ensure everybody understands the roles and responsibilities," he said. "It doesn't matter which department... they're all trained with that same standard and should be able to interconnect immediately."
Hays Fire Lt. Tim Detrixhe, who also serves as the department’s technical rescue training coordinator, said firefighters used equipment to simulate rescues involving lifting and lowering victims from deep spaces, such as an elevator tower.
"We were called to the grain elevator at Midland Marketing for a gentleman who found himself on top of the grain elevator and had fallen to a place that was really inaccessible," Detrixhe said.
Detrixhe said they used the same techniques to rescue the man and get him the medical care he needed.
Firefighters also learned the importance of anchor points, including fixed setups and experimental methods like 'meat anchors,' where one or more people serve as the anchor in a rope system.
"Say we're in the middle of nowhere and don't have something to anchor off. How much force can a bunch of people standing in a row provide for an actual anchor point?" Detrixhe said as firefighters began testing that method.
Although rope rescue situations are considered high-risk and low-frequency, Detrixhe said they leave no room for error and must be carried out perfectly.
"We hope it doesn't happen, but when it does, we're ready to go," he said.
Upcoming training for the Hays Fire Department includes a full-day building shoring exercise with the Ellis County Fire Department and a session focused on confined space rescue.
You can follow along with the department's training on Facebook.