FOR ALL IN PERIL RESCUE WORKERS TRAIN IN WATER, AIR AND CLASSROOMS.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Darvish Staff Writer CASTAIC - Firefighters, paramedics and other emergency-response teams from across the state literally descended on Castaic Lake Castaic Lake is a lake on Castaic Creek formed by Castaic Dam, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic. The 323,700 acre foot lake (399,000,000 m³) is the terminus of the West Branch of the California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 mi² early Wednesday - in five helicopters - to hone their skills in the high-pressure work of swift-water rescue. Except for mild weather with temperatures in the 80s, the training exercises provided a realistic rehearsal for the dozens of emergency responders taking the course. The teams were lowered from a helicopter into the water where a ``victim'' was waiting from help. Sponsored by the state Office of Emergency Services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' , the event drew firefighters and paramedics from some Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern and central-state agencies, as well as from Orange, San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. and Ventura counties. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city and county fire departments took the lead. Both departments log more swift-water rescues annually than the other agencies, and their training equipment is recognized as the most advanced, officials said. ``L.A. County has one of the most intensive swift-water rescue plans there is,'' said Capt. Bryan Wells of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La . ``Last winter, in one day, we had six rescues, which added up to 20 people. That's one day.'' Wednesday was the second day of three in the training course. Rescue workers had spent Tuesday in classrooms and in a swimming pool where they used miniature air tanks to get a feel for underwater emergencies. There was far more than chlorine in the pool. Trainees were strapped into a cage that simulated a helicopter cockpit. The apparatus was then rotated and shaken underwater, as if the helicopter were submerged after crashing. ``You're belted into a seat, and then they shake up the cage,'' said Joseph Chen, a firefighter-paramedic who works out of county Fire Station 90 in El Monte El Monte (ĕl mŏn`tē), city (1990 pop. 106,209), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. A residential, industrial, and commercial city in the San Gabriel Valley, El Monte manufactures furniture, electronic equipment, semiconductors, . ``You have to get yourself out of the seat and get out through a simulated door. ``It's a really valuable education - this training. And we're working with a lot of different agencies, so we've been learning how they do things. If we're ever deployed to another part of the state or the country, this will familiarize us with what else is out there.'' The state Office of Emergency Services or OES, an agency responsible for coordinating emergency responses of fire departments and law-enforcement agencies throughout the state, sponsors training sessions across California. This week's OES training event is the first in five years including interaction between helicopter pilots and responders in the water. ``This type of training is an opportunity to team up the pilots who fly the rescue helicopters with the (rescuers) on the ground and in the water,'' said Charles Hurley Hurley has become the English version of at least three distinct original Irish names: the Ó hUirthile, part of the Dál gCais tribal group, based in Clare and North Tipperary; the Ó Muirthile, based around Kilbritain in west Cork; and the OhIarlatha, from the district of , assistant chief with the OES. ``Just as the people down there in the water benefit from training with a helicopter, the pilots in the air need to know what it's like to have someone hanging under them on a rope.'' Amy Raisin Darvish, (661) 257-5254 amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color; 2 -- ran in SAC edition only) Bill Beltz, at left, from an Oakland, Calif., rescue task force photographs air-water training Wednesday at Castaic Lake. Above, one rescue worker practices pulling another, playing victim, from the water to a helicopter hoist hoist: see winch. . L.A. city and county fire departments led the training session. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion