COLLAPSE CLASS LESSONS

On November 14th - 17th, 1996, CARS sponsored a building collapse class which was the largest such project the squad has ever taken on. Now that all is said and done and the dust has settled, we have sat down and listed those things that you may need to know should you decide to have your own class.

Why have a class taught locally?

When we first started up our technical rescue team, we identified that our membership had no training in building collapse rescue. Even though we don't have buildings falling down with any frequency, you never know when a gas leak, tornado, heavy snowfall, etc. will visit your area. Initially, we wanted to send people off to be trained, but due to the number of TRT members that required training, we felt it was more economical to bring the instructors to our area.

What are the costs involved?

Without a doubt, structure collapse rescue is the most expensive type of rescue class there is. The standard going rate for such a class is $100 - $150 a day per student, plus other expenses such as travel, meals and lodging, (this is for an away class). Obviously, the longer the class is, the more experience the students get and the better they will become. (A 2 day class is too short, 4 -5 days is best.) If you have less than 10 people who need training, then send your people off.

If you decide to do a local class, the shear costs involve can be astronomical. Not only must you collect all the required tools, machines, generators, etc. involved, but a class like this requires a ton of lumber that will be used up and tools that will break. Granted, the tools can be borrowed and rented, but you will sooner or later have to acquire them to have this sort of capability. You also need to look at such side costs as meals, supplied toilets, land clearing, text books, etc. It doesn't do any good to send your students away for a 1 hour lunch, we all know they won't be back in time.

We learned to keep costs to a minimum by going around and asking local contractors and building supply houses to donate what they could. Our community came through in spades. We were very fortunate in having a building supply company next to our class building, anything we needed was supplied almost immediately. (Having a lumber mill down the street didn't hurt either.)

What type of building will we need?

Obviously, the bigger the better. We hunted for a building for over a year and we were very lucky to find an old motel that suited our needs perfectly. You must have a lot of room around the site, both for parking and to have work stations set up. The building must be fairly structurally sound to begin with. Any asbestos must be removed before the class begins. You need to have the local electric company come out and sign-off that there is no power to the building.

What about logistics?

This is where you must do a lot of preliminary work. During our recent class, we had 3 people assigned to do nothing but repair and maintain tools and equipment. The class consumes a tremendous amount of expendable items such as saw blades, chains, lubricants, fuels, etc. so have plenty of everything on hand before the class starts. We had a separate radio channel assigned to logistics so those group leaders could call for on-site repairs. We also set up a temporary fence around the logistics site with a controlled entry point to keep equipment from leaving without being tracked. By keeping one of each item in logistics such as chain saws, whenever something broke down it could be replaced immediately without holding up those groups while repairs were attempted. Keep track of who has what equipment and don not let any one group have more stuff than they can possibly use, it will save you a lot of headache in the long run.

Who should we get to teach the class?

We are very fortunate in Virginia to have several quality technical rescue teaching companies. After sending out RFP's for the class, (and the bids that came back were quite varied in cost), the ultimate decision came down to who had the most hands-on experience. Lots of people out there say they know a lot about collapse rescue, but look at their resume. What disasters have they been to and what was their role? How long have they been on the market? After checking around some, we pretty much decided on whom we wanted, but were not convinced yet. After some discussion with the company, they agreed to allow two of our members attend a 2-day class they were teaching nearby free of charge. After seeing how well they worked with us, and seeing the quality of their work through the class, it was decided that they were whom we wanted. (KVRS was evaluating this class for their own collapse school.) Obtain a copy of NFPA 1470 Standard on Search and Rescue Training for Structural Collapse Incidents and make sure that whoever teaches your class conforms to this standard. (Our class covered basic & light operational level.)

Who taught your class?

We decided on ARK Technical Rescue Training Services, Inc. out of Fairfax County, VA. The instructors are all members of FEMA Task Force TF-VA 1 and are career members of the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department. ARK instructors have tremendous amounts of actual rescue experience, they have been involved in such incidents as the Armenian earthquake in 1988, the Philippines earthquake in 1990, the Oklahoma City Bombing Incident in 1995, & Hurricane Fran in 1996. They are also involved in the development of national rescue programs for the FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Response System, the National Fire Protection Association, and the National Fire Academy.

Who should attend the class?

Initially we were going to put 20 of our people through the class and invite 10 outsiders to fill in the rest of the class. Structure collapse rescue is a very hot item and it seems that everyone is looking for a class. After checking around the area, and only finding 15 people who would commit the time and money, we advertised the class only through the Internet. We were very fortunate in this area since we met some very capable rescuers that added immensely to the overall class. Ultimately, the class size was expanded to 50 students since our huge class site could easily accommodate this many people. Because of the shear costs per student involved, only let people take the class that will be around for several years.

Was there any side benefit to having outsiders take the class?

Absolutely! We learned a lot from the class instruction, but we also learned a lot from the networking that took place. For example, Knoxville Volunteer Rescue Squad sent 8 people to the class. KVRS is an all-volunteer group that does nothing but technical rescue. As a matter of fact, they run over 3,000 calls per year that are almost technical rescue in nature! The reason for such a huge call load is that Tennessee does not have any significant OSHA laws and many counties in their part of the state have poor rescue capability. They staff 4 stations round-the-clock, they have 5 heavy rescue trucks and they recently acquired a 18-wheel tractor trailer for their collapse rescue rig! Just listening to these guys explain their operation gave us lots of ideas.

Who attended the class?

The personnel roster consisted of the following organizations and members:

CARS - Bob Jaskiewicz, Paul Kafig, Kostas Alibertis, Todd Lucas, Brett Henyon, Ben Sojka, Clint Butts, John Burruss, Dana Campbell, William Spencer, David Hartman, Landon Harris, Andrew Baxter, Pete Davidson, Hunter Ware

Knoxville (TN) Rescue Squad - Walter Idol, John Whited, Ed Rose, Jack Thomason, Ed Cate, Jeff Beeler, Gary Anders, Les Lougheed

Charlottesville Fire Department - Lisa Carpenter, Arnold Vanness, James Thompson, Larry Antonacci, RA. Jones, Stewart Gunter

Albemarle County Police Department - Duane Karr

Roanoke Fire & EMS Department - Crosby Grindle, Chuck Swecker, Audie Ferris, Kevin Bell, Willie Wines, Ed Fisher, Allen Austin, Hank Pfister

West End Rescue Squad - Dan Barry

Chesterfield Fire Department - Steve Parrott

James City County Fire Department - Justin Witt, Todd Wilson, Chris Thomas, Ron Quesenberry

Durham (NC) Fire Department - John Barrett

Sterling Rescue Squad - Doug Messitt, Sherile Long, Byron Andrews

Prince Ed Rescue Squad - Carr Boyd

Charlottesville City Gas Division - Anita Greene, Gary Orme.

Any other little tid bits if information?

Yes. We came up with a class t-shirt that went over really well. On the front we had our squad logo with the title "Structural Collapse Rescue Class 1996" underneath. On the back we had designed a unique picture that grabs your attention. Everyone that attended the class got a shirt, just a little advertising for us. At the first class, everyone was given a telephone number for any emergency for the weekend, ( a squad member was assigned to assist in any way possible). This came in handy for our out of town students. Little things like this make the class successful for everyone.

Would you do it again?

Absolutely! We have already started working on a class for next fall that will cover medium and heavy (concrete) operational level.

Should you have any other questions, please e-mail us at the address below. We will post other questions as we receive them. Good luck with your class!!