Largo paramedics train to become medics for a rapid action team of police and fire rescue workers.
By SHANNON TAN
Published April 18, 2004
[Times photo: Kinfay Moroti]
Largo fire paramedic Joe Turner, center, leads a SWAT team drill Friday at Countryside High School in Clearwater. Turner is one of four Largo Fire Rescue paramedics receiving SWAT training in preparation for a new rapid response project.
CLEARWATER - They squirm around on the grass, trying to support the legs of the person in front of them on their shoulders.
It's a matter of figuring out which guy goes where, as five men try to do push-ups together as if they were one person.
Not all of the three groups succeed, incurring the wrath of their SWAT instructor.
This is the fifth day. Is this the first time you've done team push-ups? No sir.
Are you quitting on us? No sir.
Are you getting tired? No sir.
The team push-ups are punishment for not properly securing their rifles. Later on, they sprint back and forth under the hot sun with 30 pounds of equipment on their backs. That discipline was meted out by their team leaders for not having clean weapons.
Among the police officers and sheriff's deputies enduring the grueling training are four Largo Fire Rescue paramedics.
While Largo Fire Rescue already has five SWAT medics, the four men will become members of a new rapid action team that is being created by Largo's police and fire departments.
Largo is the only city in Pinellas County developing this team, said Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Bullock. The department recently applied for a $70,000 federal grant that would help purchase specialized equipment such as body armor and hands-free thermal imagers, cover the costs of travel for training, and overtime. The city would pay an additional $30,000.
The rapid action team would respond to especially violent incidents on the level of the Columbine High School shootings, or, closer to home, the recent fatal shooting at a real estate office in Seminole.
SWAT medics would be able to pull injured bystanders out of buildings in hostage situations.
"This will enable me to work with the SWAT team and provide them with the medical (help) they need," said Eric Snell, 31, a Largo firefighter. "This will help us to be better in our everyday job and watch out for the other firefighters with us."
Snell has been training with about 17 police officers from St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Pinellas Park, as well as Pinellas County sheriff's deputies, for more than 10 hours every day for two weeks. The training ends this week.
"It's fantastic," he said. "It pulls all the inner strength out of you you didn't know you had."
When the group first started, it took them more than three minutes to get their helmets, goggles, gloves and equipment on. Now, getting dressed takes a grand total of one and a half minutes. By the end of their training next week, they'll be down to one minute.
"In our opinion, it's the best of the best," Pinellas County sheriff's Cpl. John Miller, a SWAT school instructor, said of the SWAT medics and officers.
Anyone who quits will have to ring a large bell to show that they're giving up.
The men have already gone through an obstacle course, crawling over hurdles and sliding down poles with a 16-pound bowling ball. They've learned to shoot and will master search warrant planning.
Friday afternoon, they learned how to search for bad guys in the hallways of Countryside High School.
Move nice and quiet. Look for shadows. Stop and listen. Control your breathing.
"Bad guys do the same thing," Miller said, "What makes the difference is we're trained professionals."
