Trench rescue: Firefighters hone skills to save lives

By Ms. Jacqueline Boucher (U.S. Army CommunicationsElectronics Command (CECOM))November 1, 2017

Trench rescue: Firefighters hone skills to save lives
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Trench rescue: Firefighters hone skills to save lives
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TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- Firefighters here participate in Trench Rescue training, which consists of classroom instruction and field exercises, to hone skills needed to safely execute trench rescue operations.

The training curriculum covered topics such as rescue incident management, trench configuration and soil types, extrication strategies and tactics, resource management, and stabilization and shoring systems.

Students also studied hazard identification and control, shoring panel construction, technical rescue equipment identification and application. The instructor discussed patient removal methods, basic patient care, packaging, and removal, basic and advanced shoring techniques, and applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Fire Protection Association laws and standards.

Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems across the Department of Defense. About 3,200 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania.