Why is this the Tree Rescue Workshop-Firefighter needed? And better yet, WHY Now?
Trees present difficult rescue solutions as they are a foreign environment to emergency personnel. In a way, they are very much like tower rescue in that they begin at the bottom with the victim or casualty high up in the branches. How can a firefighter gain access from the ground to this elevated location and get the person needing rescue down? Even better than that, how can this be done safely and in a timely fashion? These are the basic components of the Tree Rescue Workshop— Firefighter.
For power delivery utilities, Reed has always warned that linemen should be the first to get a fellow injured lineman down from a tower. If the fire department takes over that incident, it will take many times longer as the emergency agencies need to have safeties in place to access a power line. With trees, it is much the same. An arborist is the first line rescuer of a co-worker up in a tree, as well they should be. But often, the fire department is called because there is a breakdown in the rescue effort or there is no-one to perform it. Hence, the fire services need to have training on how to approach these difficult bottom up rescues short of using an aerial platform or ladder.
The TRW-F is a rescue class for fire and emergency services—not for arborists. We employ techniques, rope and equipment that would be found on a special operations rescue truck.
The RTR Instructors: Keith & Reed Thorne
