Firefighters feel the squeeze in collapse training

[x635 4,066]

I went to Probie Schol with Brian Hickey.

Interesting article. Sounds like a fun and unique oppurtunity. It's also nice to see that the other career departments working together and will be reieving this training.

Firefighters feel the squeeze in collapse training

By Richard Liebson

The Journal News

(Original Publication: March 9, 2007)

WHITE PLAINS - City firefighters Brian Hickey and Mike Feeney crawled out of the hole feet first and stood up, wiping the sweat from their faces and stretching their cramped arms and legs.

"It's unbelievable how hard it is,'' said Hickey, a 6-foot, 2-inch tall former Marine, after spending a little more than half an hour in the tiny space they'd managed to shore up after burrowing into the collapse. "You can barely see anything and it's really cramped. There's a lot of debris, so you really can't move around much.''

The pair were replaced by two other firefighters, who wriggled through the debris on their bellies, determined to rescue a child trapped beneath a refrigerator.

There was no building collapse in White Plains this week, but Hickey, Feeney and other members of the city's fire rescue unit have been learning the skills they'd need if there was, with help from the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

Using a specially designed trailer that simulates conditions in a collapse, firefighters have been learning how to cut holes to gain entrance, shore up collapsed floors and debris, dig their way in, locate victims and safely remove them. It is being supervised by state-certified instructors. About 50 White Plains firefighters will receive the training, along with colleagues from the Port Chester, Greenville, Hartsdale, Fairview and Mount Vernon fire departments.

By coincidence, the training comes less than two weeks after a construction worker was killed in a Yonkers collapse, when a two-ton concrete floor slab crashed through five stories of an unfinished building Feb. 26.

In this particular scenario, the rescuers are confronted with the pancake collapse of a three-story house that has left the floors stacked up on each other, less than three feet apart. In between are couches, chairs, appliances, unidentifiable debris and victims, in the form of dummies. After they have managed to cut a hole in a wall, the firefighters snake a tiny video camera at the end of a long cable into the wreckage, staring at the small handheld screen to get an idea of what's in there and how best to find and rescue victims. Another device gives them information on air quality in the debris.

They use all manner of cutting tools to work their way in. Lumber is brought in to shore up the tunnel as they move along. It is slow going by necessity - sudden movements or shifts in the debris could further injure victims or the rescuers themselves. Collapse rescues can take hours or even days.

"In a fire, the guys are going full speed ahead, because every second counts,'' said White Plains training officer Lt. Timothy Ryan. "For something like this, you have to take a slower, more methodical approach for the victim's safety and the firefighters' safety.''

Using the trailer, which once served as a tool trailer for a state technical rescue team, makes it easier and cheaper for departments around the state to receive collapse training.

It is the latest in a series of skills members of White Plains' rescue unit have received since its inception two years ago.

"If, God forbid, there was another disaster like 9/11, we want New York City and FEMA to know that we can provide guys with a certain level of training to help,'' Ryan said.

Feeney, a 10-year fire veteran, called the collapse training "some of the toughest I've ever had. It's such slow going that you get frustrated. You know there are victims trapped in there, but you can barely move. I think that's what makes it good training - you get a good idea of what you're going to be up against if something like this ever happens.''

Hickey agreed. "It's great training,'' he said. "I hope I never have to use it.''

Edited March 9, 2007 by x635

[Guest]

My cousin whos on the job in White Plains mentioned something about this training. Unsure if he was involved, but it sure sounds like a very good program every department should look into.

Edited March 19, 2007 by 66Alpha1

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Lt. Tim Ryan is a class act through and through and an excellent training officer. I've had the pleasure to work along side time in a few probie classes. As well as FF Brian Hickey who is one of the most intelligent and disciplined students I've been honored to instruct. Semper Fi Brian.