Lynn firefighters beef up training

LYNN – Hauling victims up steep rock faces in Lynn Woods or lowering them from the roof of tall buildings takes special skills, which explains why 10 firefighters spent most of Tuesday rappelling at the downtown train station parking garage.”We’ve had mountain bikers and horseback riders get into trouble in the woods. We had to use our rope skills to get them out,” said Lynn District Chief Jack Barry. “When the 10 firefighters in the present class complete their training, the department will have close to 30 guys trained to technician level.”Lead instructor Rod Towne and two associates from the Fire and Rescue Institute in New Hampshire conducted the rappelling class at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) parking garage.”The angles (are) similar (to) various locations we have in the city, like rock faces at the different playgrounds, and some of our buildings where you might have a situation that requires rescuing somebody from the roof,” said Barry.The rope work included low- and high-angle rescue, and pickoffs in which firefighters pluck a victim or colleague from one rope and clip them into another.”Later in the week we’ll be going off the rock face at the Clark Street playground, and practicing confined-space recovery,” said Barry, explaining that the latter skills are useful when extracting victims from manholes, tanks, trenches and other tight spaces that typically involve immobilization and use of a stretcher.The confined-space rescue training will be held at the Lynn Wastewater Treatment Plant off the Lynnway from Monday through Thursday.The Fire Department’s beefed-up training schedule also includes practicing as a rapid intervention team (RIT).”RIT teams are used at fire scenes. It basically means you assemble a team of men who are prepared to go in after a downed firefighter should something go wrong,” Barry said. “Right now, 24 firefighters are being trained in RIT as part of a train-the-trainer program. At the conclusion of their training, they’ll train the rest of the department.”Cross Street Associates, a consulting company in Uxbridge, is providing the RIT training. Most of the instructors are former firefighters who now provide training to other departments.Barry said the rope work and RIT training have a classroom component held at North Shore Community College. The department is also hosting a Fire Officer 1 Level course, sanctioned by the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.”The classroom is one full day a week for five weeks. The firefighters are also required to do an equal amount of work on their own time, taking online tests and keeping up with their homework through their computers.”Barry said the fire officer course covers many aspects of the job, from administrative duties and personnel management to strategy at fire scenes.”We’ve been very fortunate that everyone is so helpful and cooperative,” he said, noting that the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission authorized use of the wastewater plant for training, as did the MBTA for the garage-top rappelling, and the community college for the classroom space.