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They specialize in tricky rescues

The Pinellas County Technical Rescue Team keeps in practice for below-ground accidents.

By TERRI BRYCE REEVES, Times Correspondent
Published October 21, 2007

Sixteen members of the Pinellas County Technical Rescue Team trained last week in trench rescue, learning, among other things, how to properly shore up walls so that a safe rescue or recovery could take place.
	[Terri Bryce Reeves | Special to the Times]

But the subterranean skills learned and practiced by the Pinellas County Technical Rescue Team are every bit as valuable as those used in pulling someone from a burning building.

So last week, firefighters from all over Pinellas came to the Clearwater Airpark on N Hercules Avenue to practice the tricky and dangerous art of below-ground rescues.

"Trench rescue is one of the most important and labor-intensive specialty teams in the fire service," said St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue Lt. Todd Livingston, a leader of the countywide technical rescue team.

And one of the most dangerous.

Sudden cave-ins kill about 100 people a year in the United States. They happen most often at construction and utility sites when unsecured earthen walls collapse, burying workers - and sometimes their rescuers - in seconds.

"Trench rescue and confined-space rescue have a higher percentage of rescuer fatalities than any others," Livingston said. They're so dangerous that Livingston himself tucks a dog tag into the laces of his boot in case he ever dies in a rescue.

The technical rescue team consists of 113 members from St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue, Clearwater Fire and Rescue, Largo Fire Rescue and the Pinellas Park Fire Department. The fire departments provide the staff and the county pays for the equipment.

These modern-day heroes have saved people stranded on bridges, dangling from high-rises or trapped in tightly confined spaces after a roof collapse or car accident.

To qualify for the team, what firefighters need is a "passion to save lives, including their own," said Richard Feinberg, St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue's public information officer.

One of two female trainees last week was Teresa Bieber, 28, a firefighter and emergency medical technician with St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. She said she chose her career because "I have desk-job phobia. I've got to get out there."

Bieber has been with the department for five years and began to take these special rescue classes as the next step.

"I wanted to try my hand at more specialized tasks to see if I'm suited for them," she said.

At 5 feet 6 and 135 pounds, she's small compared to some of the men, but finds these special operations teams a good fit, especially when working in trench rescues and confined spaces.

"I've found that my small size can come in handy," she said.

The technical rescue team was created in 1992 and responds to an average of about 50 to 60 problematic rescues a year, Livingston said. Members train for a variety of disciplines, including rope rescue, building collapse, and machinery and industrial extrication.

Last week's training session was in a remote corner of the air park, which was chosen for its seclusion and safety.

During the week, 16 team members dug a trench about 25 feet long and 7 feet deep, where they hit the water table. They learned how to evaluate the risk, shore up the walls and use pneumatic struts to hold them in place.

The exterior of the trench was spray painted red as a visual aid to keep workers from accidentally falling in. Flexible tubing brought fresh air into the trench. Atmospheric meters monitored air quality.

"Everybody remained safe," Livingston said.

He said the special operations teams are among the elite of emergency personnel because of their energy and desire to train.

"They excel at their ability to rescue people from places they never should have gotten into."

Terri Bryce Reeves can be reached at treeves@tampabay.rr.com.

[Last modified October 20, 2007, 21:10:17]