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News and events from the Seattle Fire Department

Firefighters Practice High Angle Rescues at South Lake Union Construction Site

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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.

Firefighters secure ropes to a Stokes rescue basket.

Firefighters secure ropes to a Stokes rescue basket.

The mock patient was lifted out of construction pit using ropes and an on-site construction crane.

The mock patient was lifted out of construction pit using ropes and an on-site construction crane.

Firefighters practice rescuing a Crane Operator from cab of a 300-foot-tall construction crane.

Firefighters practice rescuing a Crane Operator from cab of a 300-foot-tall construction crane.

Hazmat Response at Pacific Science Center

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On Friday, July 2 just before 8:30 a.m. the Seattle Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team responded to a report of a spill of approximately 10 gallons of Muriatic Acid in a machine room at the Pacific Science Center. Employees at the Science Center noticed the spill and got out of the room without injury. Muriatic acid is used for cleaning and disinfecting and is corrosive at a high concentration. The muriatic acid is normally pumped out to pools around the Science Center, along with water and a bleach solution, but a pump malfunction caused the acid to spill.

Fire Department crews isolated the area which is not accessible to the public. With the help of specialized Hazmat tools, they worked to neutralize the acid so that it could be safely cleaned up. There were no injuries as a result of this incident.

Firefighters decontaminate a Hazardous Materials Response Team member wearing a Level B Hazmat Suit.

Firefighters on the Hazardous Materials Response Team decontaminate another Firefighter wearing a Level B Hazmat Suit.

Students from Columbia Basin Job Corps Stop by to Say Thanks

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Students and faculty from the Columbia Basin Job Corps stopped by Fire Station 25 today to say thank you to Seattle Firefighters and Police Officers who responded when their bus crashed last December. Eighty students from the Job Corps were aboard two buses that slid down an icy street and crashed through a guardrail above I-5 on December 19, 2008. The accident happened at the intersection of Thomas and Melrose Streets on Capitol Hill. Firefighters from Engine 25 were among the first to arrive on the scene. Seattle Fire Department crews evaluated the medical condition of all of the students and took eleven of them to Harborview Medical Center with minor injuries.

The group made a trip across the state from Moses Lake to visit with rescuers today. The students presented plaques with a photo of the students and signatures of those who were on board, along with a photo of the crash.

Students presented plaques to Firefighters and Police Officers.

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Firefighters Rescue Man Trapped in Hole

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Firefighters used multiple tools to stabalize the cement around the patient.

Firefighters used multiple tools to stabilize the cement around the patient.

At 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, firefighters responded to a report that a man had fallen and may have been injured next to the Washington Street Public Boat Landing at the intersection of South Washington Street and Alaskan Way South. When firefighters arrived they found a 60-year old male who fell approximately 10 feet into a hole after a section of cement collapsed underneath him. Firefighters reported that the fill dirt around the patient and large sections of remaining overhead concrete were both unstable. A Heavy Rescue response was requested, which includes Seattle Fire Department’s Technical Rescue Team.

The patient told firefighters that he was not hurt.  Firefighters worked in a coordinated effort to stabilize the soil and the concrete using ladders, wood, separators, air bags and rope. They drilled a bolt into one piece of unstable concrete and tied it to a nearby pole so that if the slab of cement were to break it would not fall down on the patient.  When the hole was stabilized, two firefighters entered the hole and cut off the patient’s backpack and shirt sleeve which were pinned down by a large slab of cement.

Once the patient was free, he was put in a rescue harness. The aerial ladder on a ladder truck was extended over the sidewalk and used to raise the patient out of the hole. The man was complaining of minor back pain and was transported to Harborview Medical Center for further evaluation.

The patient was extricated using an aerial ladder attached to a rescue harness.

The patient was extricated using an aerial ladder attached to a rescue harness.