On Saturday, July 11 Seattle firefighters worked with construction crews from GLY Construction to practice high angle rescues at a South Lake Union construction site located at 301 Boren Avenue.

First, firefighters simulated rescuing injured patients from the bottom of the construction pit, which is approximately 100 feet below the street level. They placed the patient on a backboard and then into a Stokes rescue basket. Using ropes and an aerial ladder on a Seattle Fire Department Ladder Truck, they raised the patient out of the pit. Firefighters also collaborated with construction workers to utilize an on-site construction crane to lift a second patient out of the pit.

Following the pit rescues, firefighters from the Seattle Fire Department Technical Rescue Team practiced a high angle rope rescue scenario. A mock crane operator suffered a medical emergency in the cab of a 300 foot-tall tower crane, and firefighters brought the patient to safety using ropes and other specialized equipment.