MIDDLETOWN, Conn — The Middletown Fire Department’s Platoon 1 spent a rainy Thursday morning geared up and ready to go – but they never left the station.
A dozen fire department members were working on their “technician level” confined spaces training.
“It’s an OSHA-mandated required training that we have to do every year. Throughout the city different industries have spaces that employees will go into to do routine maintenance, if they get injured or disabled, we have to be trained and we have to have the equipment capable of going in and rescuing them,” said Assistant Chief James Ehman, who helped to lead the training.
Ehman noted that scenarios can range from rescuing a worker from a manhole to an underground fuel tank to finding someone in a silo or small tube.
“There’s a process to it,” Ehman said. “There are roles and responsibilities that need to be trained on and practiced over and over again so we are proficient at them.”
Firefighter Sean Begley, who has been with the Middletown Fire Department for six years, was designated as one of the two lead rescuers in the scenario the team was running.
“It’s always difficult operating with gear on and the gloves and you’ve got your facemask on but it’s all about having the team -- Each team member makes everything easier,” Begley said.
Ehman said he was pleased with the training results,
“To the layperson, it does look like chaos but,” Ehman said. “The guys succeeded in working together and accomplishing the task and building the confidence.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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