Somerville Firefighters Practice Rescue Techniques with Commuter Rail Employees
The training improved firefighters technical rescue skills, which they've been called upon to use on occasion.
The Somerville Fire Department Wednesday conducted special training with Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail employees at the Commuter Rail's maintenance facility in Somerville, according to an announcement from the Fire Department.
The drill involved rescuing a mock victim from a confined space 15 feet below the locomotive repair area, the announcement says. Firefighters and Commuter Rail employees worked together to rescue the victim.
The training provided a realistic rescue scenario, allowing firefighters to improve their technical rescue skills, the announcement says.
Rescuing victims from strange and difficult spaces is not uncommon for Somerville firefighters.
In April, firefighters rescued a man who was trapped in a paper silo in the industrial area of Somerville's Inner Belt neighborhood—the same neighborhood where the Commuter Rail maintenance facility is located.
In October, 2011, firefighters rescued a worker who fell into the basement of a building on Dover Street in Davis Square.