Firefighters prepare for the worst with 9/11-type aerial training
ByNews reporter
Kris Miller, Courier, 25/04/11. Picture today at Maxwelltown tower, Hilltown, Dundee. Safedem, who are in charge of the demolition of the multi's gave the firebrigade access to the buildings to allow them to practice emergency rescue's. Firefighters used visual and listening devices to locate 'casualties' and remove them safely from the building. Pic shows firefighters removing a casualty from the building using the aerial platform.
A Dundee multi-storey being stripped for demolition is providing an ideal training ground for firefighters.
Crews from Macalpine Road fire station have exploited the opportunities at Carnegie Tower on Alexander Street to train for an emergency they hope will never happen.
Station manager Mark Crush said the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001 prompted a new level of training and specialist equipment for fire and rescue crews across the UK.
After 9/11 Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) units were identified for specific areas with the expectation they would be ready to respond in the immediate aftermath of an attack.
While nobody hopes specialist skill will ever be required, Macalpine Road fire station is the USAR provider for Tayside.
It is not just terrorist attacks they train for but other major incidents which involve search and rescue, such as the collapse of a building the training scenario being enacted at Carnegie Tower.
The scenario was that the building had collapsed and an unknown number of casualties were trapped inside.
Safedem, the company preparing the flats on Alexander Street for demolition, agreed to allow crews to use the building for training.
Firefighters prepare for the worst with 9/11-type aerial training
