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Imagine falling or being trapped in a large hole or trench, or being a construction worker and seeing another co-worker becoming buried under dirt or water while working in a pipeline trench.  Who is going to be called for the rescue and how are you going to know if they have been trained in this specialized situation.

This weekend the Guymon Fire Department’s Specialized Technical Rescue Team worked on these particular rescue scenarios at a Trench Rescue class here.  The class is part of the Rescue Team’s training that is funded from Oklahoma Homeland Security and taught through Oklahoma State University Fire Service Training.  “Trench Rescue is one of many disciplines with technical rescue”, states Assistant Chief Dean McFadden.

This specialized class taught Rescue Team members how to use the specialized equipment in emergency situations and how to set up a rescue in a trench collapse.  “A trench rescue team requires a cache of specialized equipment to be proficient and constant attention to training is necessary for all rescue team members to maintain proficiency,” says McFadden.

Instructors from Stillwater, Tulsa and Del City supervised the training in Guymon over the weekend.  Training was at a remote site where real trenches — 20 feet in length, 4 feet wide, and 8 to 9 feet deep — were used.  Rescue team members where placed in live scenarios where all their knowledge and specialized equipment were utilized. 

Currently, Guymon’s Technical Rescue is the only fully equipped, staffed, and trained team in northwest Oklahoma.  Being ready for any type of specialized rescue is the goal of Oklahoma Homeland Security and Guymon Fire Department is one step of that here in the Panhandle.