THINGS YOU’LL LEARN IN A FEMA STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE TECHNICIAN COURSE

The following training centers were setup in various locations with 1 FEMA instructors to every 2 students; a ratio that allows for hands-on personal training.

1. Heavy Lifting and Moving
2. Airbag Operations
3. Shoring Operations
4. Concrete Breaching and Breaking
5. Practical Crane Operations
6. Cutting and Burning Station

While ADS was in attendance for all of these trainings, we were paying special attention to heavy lifting and moving, breaking, and breaching and shoring. Here is a sneak peek into why these trainings are important and what they’re like for the students who attend them.

HEAVY LIFTING AND MOVING

“We don’t bring cranes with us,” said Instructor Mark Hundley of Virginia Beach Fire Department – Task Force 2. In this photo, Mark is demonstrating the crane’s capabilities when it comes to lifting something heavy at close range and something heavy from far away.

When FEMA members arrive on the scene, they first identify the crane on-site, determine who the crane operator is and assign a FEMA member to communicate with the rigger and on-site rescue personnel. Oftentimes the crane operators or riggers that are called on in a disaster situation don’t know the standards or protocols when removing debris from delicate or dangerous situations and they also are not trained in discovering or retrieving victims. It’s imperative that the FEMA firefighter be on the scene to instruct rescue personnel on how to respond.

At this FEMA training, firefighters are learning how to be the operator, how to rig correctly, how to lift and move debris and look for things like “hard points” or “lifting eyes”.

CONCRETE BREACHING AND BREAKING

Students in Concrete Breaching and Breaking learn how to “defeat” things like concrete, collapsed structures, timber, masonry, and parking decks to name a few.

Mike Kaliher, the lead Concrete Breaching and Breaking Instructor, is also a Firefighter for the Virginia Beach Fire Department. Mike’s role as instructor is to plan, organize and oversee the logistics, equipment, and site development of the training site.

Mike explained the difference between a “clean breach” and a “dirty breach,” to ADS officials. In any scenario where there is a concrete barrier between rescue personnel and potential victims it’s important to identify what is behind the concrete barrier. FEMA members do this by drilling a hole, inserting a camera and identifying what is behind it before dropping the barrier. Trainees have fun with this training by doing timed events and making a competition out of it. Walking the training course, you can witness firefighters climbing through concrete tubes and drilling their way through a ground simulation to escape. A sign “Abandon Feelings Here,” reminds students of their mission in these scenarios.

ADS IS A PROUD SUPPORTER OF FEMA

As a premier tactical gear supplier and a proud supporter of FEMA initiatives and personnel, ADS was on-site providing Team Wendy EXFIL® Search and Rescue (SAR) helmets to FEMA trainees for test and evaluation during training.

The Team Wendy EXFIL® SAR Helmet meets three of the four FEMA requirements, including: EN12492:2012 for Mountaineering Helmets, EN1385:2012 for Whitewater Helmets, and AR/PD 10-02 Rev A for Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH). This reduces the number of helmets each FEMA personnel are required to own and has additional tactical accessory and night vision mounting capabilities.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Weight: 1.59 lbs. (0.72kg)
Dimensions: 29cm x 25cm x 17cm
Colors: USCG Orange, White, Red, Black, Blue, and Yellow