He has fallen into ditches, gotten stuck under rocks and been buried under hundreds of pounds of dirt all in the name of the department’s second trench rescue training.
The weeklong program, which began Sept. 21, teaches firefighters how to rescue workers who are trapped in the event of a trench collapse. These kinds of collapses are the leading cause of death in construction accidents, according to a city press release.
“In the private sector, time is money and money is time,” said Todd Taylor, an instructor with Advanced Rescue Solutions. “They don’t spend the time to make the trenches safe.”
Around 15 firefighters participating in the training, which will bring all of Bloomington’s tactical rescue team personnel up-to-date with this discipline. High school students from the Hoosier Hills Fire Science Program are also undergoing the training.
The drills are taking place in a dirt trench at the IU Campus Division Storage. The trainees surround the L-shaped hole equipped with dozens of different types of tools like buckets, shovels and low-pressure air bags.
Under the threat of cave-ins, these rescues can take a long time to do properly. The one completed Thursday morning took two hours.
“You’re not going to be able to make a quick rescue or even a quick entrance into the tunnel,” Sgt. Brandon Hudson said. “It’s a very slow and precise training.”
Tania Daffron, the battalion chief of training, explained the fire department does much more than fight fires. They are called for water leaks, medical issues and even domestic disturbances. This training will help them address another need in Bloomington.
“Any new building construction, I-69 construction, anything with gas pipes, water pipes — you’re going to be building trenches like these,” Daffron said.
Before the Bloomington department began this training, departments in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Fishers, Indiana; Evansville, Indiana; and Indianapolis were the only groups in the state certified in this type of rescue.
“There was a big gap,” Taylor said. “Now you’ve got the city of Bloomington to fill that.”
