Elkwater Fire Rescue get specialized and invaluable training
Elkwater Fire Rescue spent their Sunday hard at work, learning and refreshing skills they hope to never use.
Prior to the reopening of the ski hill, the teams took training on lift evacuation, said Deupty Fire Chief Keith Fisher. This training is done every year before the start of the season to ensure that they are prepared in the event of an emergency.
“One of their team leaders does a presentation and then there’s a video that we watch on the training. And then we go up on the hill, and they put people in for six or seven chairs. And then there are probably three or four rescue teams starting at the top of the hill and working down,” said Fisher.
An actual evacuation consists of firing a rope over the cable and attaching a small metal device, said Fisher, that allows for the team to send up a small T-bar for those in need of rescue to sit on in order to be lowered back down. This training is offered every year for the fire department and ski hill staff, with it being mandatory for any new members.
“For the fire department, whoever can make it goes. So some guys have been there three or four times and some have been once or twice,” said Fisher.
As far as Fisher can recall, they have never had to actually evacuate the lift, making this training another instance of it being better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
“If the list breaks down, they see if they can get it fixed within 30 to 45 minutes. And usually they do or they *
always do,” said Fisher. “But if they decide they can’t, then the operations chief makes the call that there’s going to be an evacuation. At that time, they have their evacuation plan that they pull out, they start getting their staff together, they probably will call EMS, and they will dial 911 and tone us out. So then we get the call on our radios and then we go over and offer any assistance we can. We do have a Polaris Ranger side by side on tracks. So one of our jobs probably is transporting people once they get off the lift and taking them down to the chalet so they can get in and get warmed up. We can also assist with evacuating from the lift or we can assist with first aid.”
“Like we always say, something’s probably won’t happen but if they do, volunteer firefighters need to know what to do. They need to be good at it and they need to be relatively quick at it,” said Fisher.