First responders from Citrus County Fire Rescue (CCFR) attended a three- day special operations training event with Hernando County Fire Rescue, hosted by Sumter County Fire & EMS. These rescue agencies hold combined training annually in areas such as trench rescue, confined space rescue, hazardous materials, structural collapse, and others. These low-frequency, high-risk calls can happen at any time, which require training in order to successfully handle the situation.
The agencies encountered three scenarios each day: trench, confined space, and hazmat. Crews handled each scenario as if it was an actual emergency call and were not given advanced information regarding each call, according to Jeremy Feil, Division Chief of program management, Sumter County Fire & EMS. “It put crews and equipment to the test,” Feil said.
In the trench scenario, a subcontractor was digging to place a storage tank when one of the walls collapsed on a worker. In the confined space scenario, a worker was caught in a storage tank. In hazmat, workers noted “smoke” coming from a warehouse. Rather than a fire, it was a chemical leak. Each day, teams received training for each event. Crews rescued personnel as well as treating the incident.
“We embrace the opportunity to train alongside our colleagues from Hernando and Sumter County,” said CCFR Chief Craig Stevens. “These training scenarios allow for better communications between the three departments, an opportunity to know each other’s equipment functionality, and an improved level of emergency response when we responding to each other’s areas.”
The multi-agency training event has been so successful that representatives from each county is looking to make it a quarterly event.
For more information about Citrus County Fire Rescue, visit www.citruscountyfire.com.
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