Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Thurston County’s Special Operations Rescue Team (SORT) conducted a “detail oriented” trench rescue drill on Wednesday, March 26, at the Lake Lawrence Fire Station just off Vail Road in order for members to fine tune their skills and techniques.
Andy Speier, battalion chief and SORT Operations Team leader, said the trench rescue drill simulates a worker or an individual who is injured or buried by a collapse.
He noted Thurston County SORT has 46 participating members and is made up of seven different agencies, including McLane-Black Lake, Tumwater, Olympia, Lacey Fire District 3, East Olympia Fire Department, Southeast Thurston Fire Authority and West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.
Speier added the participating crew members put ground pads down to protect the edge of the 10-foot trench from increasing. There were areas of the trench that could slough, and members put down the pads in order to distribute their weight.
The trench also had struts in it that compressed its sides in order to prevent it from collapsing.
Before Thurston County SORT members can enter the workzone during a rescue attempt, Speier said a safe area must be created, which can be done by placing four panels near the trench.
“The training is important because there’s a lot of equipment and a lot of moving parts. It’s very detail oriented,” Speier said. “These are structural firefighters who spend 80% of their time going on medical calls. It’s very important to stay current on all of these skills, which is difficult. There’s a lot of equipment on this truck, and it can be hard to keep track of it all. That’s why we try to do these ongoing training exercises.”
According to the battalion chief, different Thurston County SORT drills are offered periodically throughout the year. Last week, Speier said the rescue team participated in the rescue of simulated operators of the tower crane on the Capitol Campus.
“We conduct training throughout the year, and everybody has to attend at least one trench drill, one confined space drill, one structural collapse drill and two rope rescue drills,” Speier said. “There’s another specialty drill for tree rescue, water rescue, ice rescue — things like that.”
Though Thurston County SORT doesn’t frequently utilize its trench rescue strategies, Speier said there have been recent occurrences where the rescue team has used this specific strategy in attempts to save a trapped individual.
“We had a trench rescue up at the wind farm on Weyerhaeuser property that resulted in a serious injury and a fatality. We had a trench rescue at the Costco site at Hawks Prairie, where everybody survived. We don’t have trench rescues often, but we certainly do have them,” Speier said. “For anyone, don’t go into a trench that’s unsupported. If someone does get injured in a trench, call 911.”
Speier said he was also thankful for the support of the local community in helping make the trench rescue training operation at the Lake Lawrence Fire Station occur. Yelm High School graduate Ricky Alvarez, with Alvarez Excavation, volunteered his time and resources to dig the trench for Thurston County SORT.
“Ricky Alvarez came out here, and on his own time he donated his time and service to dig this trench for us. It saved quite a bit of money from our budget,” Speier said. “We appreciate the support of the citizens of Thurston County in allowing us to do this.”
