Handful of Carmel firefighters learn rope rescue training

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A handful of Carmel firefighters are learning rope rescue training to help save people from tall buildings.

The training relies specifically on trust as most firefighters are going out of a six-story window. It’s a week-long class at the Wayne Township Training Tower and a new concept for a handful of first responders.

Rope rescue can be used on water but also for high angle rescues. For example, the new technique can be used to save a window washer from a high rise building. Advanced Rescue Solutions holds the training for different municipalities across the state.

The training starts with different scenarios. The firefighter will go out the window while relying on fellow crew members to lower them down. Then, they will get the person out of what they’ve fallen into and attach them to their harness. Lastly, they will slowly be lowered down to the ground together.

It’s not only physically demanding but also mentally.

“From learning the systems and understanding them, it’s not just something that you can learn in a week,” Carmel Fire Department spokesperson Tim Griffin said. “You have to practice this when you’re out of here. You have to continue keeping this fresh in your mind. It’s physically one to go out the windows but it’s also something when you’re headed out of a window or out of a side of a building, that’s mental. You need to have trust in the system, trust in the guys and girls that are learning and teaching and training you and trust in the equipment that we have.”

Griffin says fire training is ever-changing and it’s not just about fighting fires. It’s all aspects of rescue and safety.

The firefighters in the video attached to this story work and live together. You will notice they don’t have masks on and aren’t social distancing. In Carmel, they are tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis and only work with their specific shift.