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Tonya Papanikolas reportingA Utah task force that has responded to natural disasters and even the collapse of the World Trade Center has been working hard on more training.
Utah Task Force One is made up of firefighters from the Salt Lake Fire department, Unified Fire Authority and a few civilians. It's one of 28 federal Urban Search and Rescue Teams across the country that responds to disasters. The training is very important.
Twenty Utah Task Force One students have been busy at work. The men and women are learning how to respond to structural collapses in case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
Capt. Bryan Case said, "What we're simulating here is we've suffered an earthquake, so they're having to go through some of the debris that you might encounter in either a residential or a commercial structure."
Capt. Michael White said, "In a very confined area, dig through that concrete to the victim that might be on the other side or trapped underneath."
After the victims are located, the next challenge is getting to them through all the debris and concrete. In one scenario, a victim is behind a wall that rescuers have to break through with high-tech tools. In another situation, a victim is trapped under a concrete slab that weighs up to 9,000 pounds.
The crew uses pumps and airbags to lift the weight. As the concrete is raised, they prop it with wood and pull out what represents a live victim.
The skills learned are being used during real emergencies. The Utah team traveled to New York after 9-11, where they recovered several bodies. They also dug through debris for victims after Hurricane Katrina.
Craig Outzen, a Utah Task Force One paramedic, said, "I think it's easy to lose sight of the fact that these are very low-frequency incidents, and in order to have the skill set to be able to operate in them, the only way to get that is through training."
Sometimes these teams are put on alert ahead of time if forecasters know a hurricane could hit or, for example, in preparation for the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Team members told us they'd rather not have to use their skills, but they need to be ready.
E-mail: tpapanikolas@ksl.com
