Sitting atop a bright red construction crane, eight stories in the sky, were three firefighters lowering an empty rescue basket down to the ground Thursday as the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department conducted crane rescue training.

Fire Marshall Craig Etherton called crane rescues “low frequency, high risk” operations.  

“These are things that don’t happen very often,” he said. “Having the opportunity to come down here and practice on the real deal is pretty important.” 

The training exercise gave technical team members a rare chance to rehearse procedures they cannot fully simulate with their five-story training tower.

The session allowed for firefighters and technical teams to work out kinks in real time, refine techniques and build confidence. 

It was focused on safely extracting a crane operator from a confined cab several stories above the ground with little ability to maneuver. 

“If he is having a problem, we have to get him from the seat, back over and down the center hole to a platform where we have the basket waiting,” Etherton said. 

Crews practiced maneuvering harnesses, ropes and rescue equipment through the structure’s high and tight spaces while coordinating with the rescue teams on the ground.

Etherton explained that the fire department regularly trains for the same maneuver with their training tower and practicing it at greater heights means they can be ready for even taller heights. 

“If we can do this, we can move it higher,” he said. “The operation is the same, it’s just a lot higher.” 

Among their specialized training, they also practice trench rescues, building collapse, confined space rescues and more.

Height tolerance is a non-negotiable requirement for the team. 

“One of the very first things that we do when people test to be firefighters, they have to climb the [truck ladder] extended,” Etherton said. 

This early test weeds out those uncomfortable with heights, as the technical rescue team often places personnel in precarious, elevated positions.

Etherton was thankful for the opportunity to train in a unique setting. 

“We want to thank Dick Anderson Construction for wanting to make sure, their guy that’s up there, that we can help him if he needs it,” he said.

    The Coeur d'Alene Fire Department's Technical Rescue Team attaches a rescue basket to their sets of ropes and pulleys to lower it down during training on Thursday.
  

    Firefighters Zach Brawley and Evan Brinkmeyer return to the ground after training.