TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Fire Department performs around 12 water rescues per year, and today, its newest cadets learned how to rescue themselves and others.
Class 110 spent the day out on the Illinois River, learning swift water rescue tactics and other lifesaving maneuvers.
The current can be deceiving, and one of the first exercises the class did was called the strainer drill.
This simulates what would happen if the cadet was to encounter an object that allows water to move through it, like a branch or a fence but traps them.
The cadets are taught to get over the log or strainer quickly so they aren’t stuck underneath it and drown.
Eddie Garrett is part of this year’s cadet class and says this exercise is incredibly challenging.
"Today, when we were doing the log crossing, you would think you could go over that very easily. You cannot. Just that little stream right there, it was so powerful,” said Garrett.
He says he left a career in the medical field to pursue becoming a first responder.
“Before this, I did medical sales for about 16 years and decided to come over here and pursue my dream,” he said.
The catch curtain is another exercise the cadets worked on.
It involves using a net built from throw bag ropes that is stretched across a body of water.
"We call it a catch curtain, and so we take ropes and string it across the river, and it comes down and makes contact with whoever, so if you had people in the water, you could build that downstream and as they came down, it catches them,” said rescue coordinator, Terry Sivadon.
The cadets also performed the tethered boat drill.
Firefighters use tethered ropes that are attached to an inflatable raft to control it as it travels down the current.
Once the cadets are able to pull the victim into the raft, the crews manually pull the boat back to safety.
"Any of them could be assigned to a truck where they encounter flash flooding or be assigned down by the Arkansas River or the Mingo Creek, so we want them to have that knowledge and that skillset before they go out,” said Sivadon.
This year’s class features 34 cadets, and they are scheduled to graduate on August 10th.
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