Friday, March 29, 2024
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Putnam Rescue Squad Drilling Rope Skills At Bee Rock

The Putnam County Rescue Squad took to Bee Rock this weekend to sharpen its rope rescue skills.

Public Information Officer Mike Herrick said rope rescue is used often, either for vehicle wrecks, fallen hikers and even for pets. Herrick said having a training spot in their backyard helps new members find out quickly what their rescue specialty is.

“You get that initial fear out of the way so it just becomes second nature,” Herrick said. “Just like with anything else, where one person may be afraid of water, another person may be a fish in the water. Same scenario here where somebody may have a fear of heights where someone else will completely excel at it.”

Herrick said that experience is where new members can learn to specialize in rigging the ropes and getting squad members ready to descend. He said many members who participated in the latest rope training got to familiarize themselves before experiencing it during certification testing.

“We may have an incident at Cummins Falls, anytime we go to Cummins Falls we have to send our rope team and our swift water team together because of that terrain,” Herrick said. “It allows for multiple teams to train as well and get familiar with what each is going to need to accomplish that task.”

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