Fire rescue training
July 29, 2022
Albemarle County group conducted training on Grounds
Albemarle County Fire Rescue recently conducted a training exercise for their Technical Rescue Team within a utility tunnel on Grounds.
The training helps the team prepare for how they would respond if they were called to rescue a person who was injured within the tunnel. Rescue personnel practiced using a dummy via a tunnel access point on Edgemont Road.
Before entering the confined space, the rescue team took all of the necessary safety precautions, including monitoring the atmosphere and the temperature, which was 130 degrees at one point.
“We time [a practice rescue] to help us create a timeline to gauge if there's any bottleneck in our procedures,” said Wallace Robertson with Albemarle County Fire Rescue. “This is a great opportunity for us as a lot of our training is often in staged environments.”
The Technical Rescue Team is led by Battalion Chief Drew Knick, the spouse of Associate Director for Construction & Renovation Services Bree Knick. In the event of an emergency, this team would respond along with Charlottesville Fire Department's Technical Rescue team.
The department worked with Associate Director of Utilities Cameron Ratliff to arrange for the training opportunity.
“Cameron's extensive efforts have forged a new opportunity between UVA and local responders,” said Robertson.
Jane Centofante
Communications senior generalist
UVA Facilities Management
(434) 982-5846
janecentofante@virginia.edu