Firefighters practice rescues from confined spaces in Jeannette

The victim: a 180-pound dummy dressed in firefighter gear trapped underneath Fifth Street in Jeannette.

The mission: squeeze through a manhole and a few feet of old brick street for a rescue.

“One patient down, unconscious,” Penn Township medical rescue technician Bobby Scott said through a radio after he touched down 15 feet below street level.

A group of about 15 firefighters and ambulance personnel spent most of the weekend learning about confined space rescue at Jeannette Fire Department. Saturday’s lecture and review of equipment was followed by a hands-on session Sunday that involved students being lowered into the storm water drain through a manhole.

Jeannette Fire Chief Bill Frye and firefighter Scott Held instructed the group. It’s an important skill for city firefighters to have because of the heavy industrial businesses in town, Frye said.

“In case an incident were to occur there, we know how to handle it, we have the equipment and training to handle it,” he said. “As well as anything that can happen in a regular residential setting, kids playing in the storm sewers, things of that nature.”

Firefighters set up a tall tripod and rigged a rope and pulley harness system. Held offered up advice and other aspects of the rescue to consider. The class, attended by emergency services personnel from Jeannette, Penn Township and the area, will be held two more times this year, Frye said.

It gets tough when you’re working in tight spaces and trying to rescue someone, said Ron Falk, paramedic and technical rescue team leader at Penn Township Ambulance. Working with others from the area knowledgeable about confined space rescue was helpful to operate smoothly during future calls.

“We do a lot of technical rescue calls that are either within our own township or around the area,” he said.