YFD News In Depth

Rescuers practice rope tricks at heights

March 7, 2001

By PATRICIA MEADE, VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

Left: Youngstown firefighter Jimmy Drummond checks his equipment before participating in a demonstration of the fire department's High Angle Rope Rescue Team, which practiced Tuesday at the No. 1 fire station downtown.

YOUNGSTOWN -- Firefighter Jimmy Drummond likes bouncing off walls.

Someday, the activity could save a life.

Drummond is a team leader for the Youngstown Fire Department High Angle Rope Rescue Team. The other leaders are Lt. Mark Farragher and Firefighter Fred Beehler.

Drummond demonstrated rappelling Tuesday at No. 1 fire station downtown.

Snow swirled in frigid air as he leaned back in a rope harness and tipped his head away from the wind. He swung precariously as Ladder Truck 24 lifted him above the station roof about 60 feet.

"That's what we call a 'hard lock-off,'" Lt. Barry Finley, commander of the 22-member rescue team, said of the knotted rope. "He doesn't need to hold on with his hands."

What was demonstrated: Once in position, Drummond gave a thumb's up sign and undid the knot in the rope. Within

seconds, he rappelled -- or pushed with his feet -- off the brick wall and landed safely on the icy parking lot.

As a sky-diving instructor, Drummond has no fear of height. It was cold up there, though, he said with a grin.

The rope rescue team -- 20 men and two women -- trained for 18 months, Finley said. The fire department has rope rescuers and a team leader on each shift.

"We talked about this 25 years ago when I was on the department," said Councilman John Swierz, D-7th, as he watched Tuesday's demonstration.

High angle rescues could involve a stuck window washer or someone trapped at the top of a water tower, Finley said.

Teams can also respond to rescue situations in Mill Creek Park, for example, where hikers sometimes topple into ravines.

"This is a program to improve service. When people call 911 with a problem, we want to be ready," said Fire Chief John J. O'Neill Jr. "There are so many high buildings."

They're prepared: O'Neill said all firefighters, not just rope rescuers, are trained to free victims from confined spaces, such as collapsed drainage trenches.

Finley said rope rescue teams have trained in Mill Creek Park, at the No. 2 fire station on Indianola Avenue and at Youngstown State University.

At YSU, they rappelled off the top of the stadium. In the park, they practiced dragging victims up hills.

The hose tower inside No. 2 station, where hoses hang about 25 to 30 feet in the air to dry, works well for rope rescue beginners.

"It gets them acclimated to height," Finley said.

A truck once used by the arson bureau has been reassigned for use by the team. It holds all the ropes, locking hinges, webbing and other gear needed for rescues.