Special Teams

A requirement of being on the fire, OSAR and GSAR teams is that you participate in a monthly drill or a monthly training. As with most things in life and since we're all human, we tend to procrastinate on getting this done. So as the end of the month is upon us, there have been trainings and drills all around for us team members.

First, we had OSAR training where we took out two boats for man overboard drills. I, and two others, volunteered to wear immersion suits so we could go overboard into the cold water to be rescued by our fellow teammates. It was hilarious and fun!

Second, we had a surprise fire drill where Adam and I (SCBA Team 1) had to search for and rescue a victim that was passed out in his room. This produced a most respectable sweat as the victim weighed about 200 lbs, we were in full SCBA gear comprised of heavy clothing and packs, and we had to take the victim down a flight of stairs. On the bright side, though, we had him rescued in a good amount of time, theoretically saving his life. We all had a toast to this the night of the drill while admiring the victim's carpet burn on his back from getting dragged along the hallway.

Finally, on Friday, we had a GSAR training exercise. First, we practiced setting up an industrial haul system with ropes, special knots, pulleys, and ice axes/screws that would be used to pull people out of crevasses. After that, we headed up to the glacier to possibly practice snowmobile driving, to practice walking on a rope team and to reposition/redrill some flag lines that marked cracks in our safe zone.

Overall, it was a time filled with laughter, some floating in the sea, sweat, cold hands and racing heartbeats.

Click here for some photos