Firefighters found themselves dangling 40 feet above the stage in the Clark Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, the third day of a weeklong course on rescue techniques.
Seven members of the Five Cities Fire Authority and two from a Northern California agency are participating in the state-certified Rescue Systems 1 class, said Michael Hubert, interim Fire Authority chief.
“Two weeks ago, we were designated a Rescue Systems 1 Training Site,” Hubert said. “What that means is we have all the props needed to hold a rescue systems class.
“This is the first class we’ve given since we became a state-designated facility,” he added.
Five Cities Fire Authority earned the accreditation by meeting the equipment standards, tools cache, props and site requirements and passing a site inspection.
Hubert said a lot of the firefighters have already received some of the training provided in Basic Rescue Skills, but taking the class will lead to state certification.
“Our guys need it because we have an OES unit — a state Offices of Emergency Services engine — here, and you have to be certified to have that engine,” he said.
Five Cities Fire serves the communities of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and Oceano.
Engineer Mark Searby, the Fire Authority’s training officer, led the nine firefighters through an introductory session on tying various knots and hitches, constructing anchor systems and packaging both rescuers and victims Monday.
On Tuesday, they moved on tousing ladder rescue systems at the Station 66 Headquarters before taking on the rope rescue techniques on Wednesday in the Clark Center on the Arroyo Grande High School campus.
Under Searby’s direction, firefighters rigged up belaying and safety lines and constructed raising and lowering systems.
They also rappelled down from the scaffolding high above the Forbes Hall stage — much as they would have to do to rescue a victim trapped on a cliff, in a well or a damaged building.
Today, the class will move to Station 68 in Grover Beach, where they will train on breaching, breaking and moving heavy objects.
“There are some really heavy objects they have to move with just hand tools,” Hubert said. “They’re made of concrete.”
The training will involve estimating weights, determining centers of gravity and using levers, wedges, pry bars, shims and rollers to lift and stabilize heavy objects, remove victims and then lower the objects.
On Friday, they’ll be back at Station 68 training on shoring up walls, doors, windows and similar structures using wood in a variety of methods.
Hubert credited Searby with driving the certification course.
“He’s been a certified instructor for a while,” Hubert said. “He’s worked hard to put the props together and get the thing done.”
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