GREAT FALLS — With careful coordination, Great Falls firefighters used the fire department's new TerrAdaptor to back down a hill Wednesday carrying what's known as a stokes basket to a person pretending to be in need of rescue.
"For this spring quarter, we're practicing low-angle technique, low-angle rescue, with our stokes basket,” explained Brandon Jaraczesk.
The TerrAdaptor is something the firefighters have had eyes on for some time but were just recently able to get the money to buy.
"A tripod that not only is used for confined space incidents. It could be used for over-the-edge (incidents.) It's going to get our rope off the ground over the edge so our rope isn't going on the ground,” Jaraczeski said, describing the TerrAdaptor. "It helps with rope management. We can use it (in) a lot of different variations. In the refinery, out windows, it'll give us different anchor points for any high-angle rescue that we've got."
While the TerrAdaptor isn't a tool that will be used every day, firefighters say it's still a tool worth having and knowing how to use.
"It's a high risk, low frequency type of operation so it's pretty imperative that we stay up to snuff with our training on it just for that one incident that happens. A couple of years ago, we had an individual that went over the edge out on the River's Edge Trail out on the South Shore Trail and this thing would've helped out,” Jaraczeski said.
Having purchased the TerrAdaptor, the firefighters can now consider buying parts to add to it in the future to make it even more versatile.
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