On Tuesday West Mead #1 firefighters returned to an acquired structure along Cochranton Road for a drill on firefighter rescue. Firefighters practiced the “Double Horse Shoe Technique” for rescuing an uninjured firefighter who has fallen through a floor into a basement or lower level.

The first rescuer sounds the floor and positions himself atop the charged hoseline as an anchor, using the nozzle for fire suppression as needed to defend the downed firefighter. The second rescuer advances enough hose to form a loop that the downed firefighter can straddle. Then the second rescuer (and a third rescuer if available) pulls on the supply side of the hose to raise their colleague. During training a two-man crew set up a belay line attached to the downed firefighter using a quick harness or built-in rescue harness.

The Double Horse Shoe rescue technique is not a good fit for every rescue situation, but it offers one option for an initial fire attack team to make a rescue with limited manpower.

West Mead #1 thanks township resident Doug Hanaway for making the acquired structure available for firefighter training.