Firefighters Train At Lake View Cemetery Dam For Unusual Rescue Situations

Rescuing somebody who fell off a cliff or trapped in a collapsed trench is trickier than it looks.

That's why several community fire departments got together to create a special rescue team for those kinds of situations. And they've been training Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at Lake View Cemetery's Dam in Cleveland Heights to be prepared.

The Heights Area Special Rescue Team has been working on their "rope rescues," said Interim Chief Pat Sweeney at the Shaker Heights Fire Department.

The team is comprised of 45 firefighters from Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, University Heights, South Euclid, Euclid and Beachwood. It was created 18 years ago.

This week's work has included specialized training in high angle rope rescues and rescues in trenches, high places, confined spaces and collapsed spaces, he said. They also train in the following kinds of specialty rescues including:  ice rescue and tower rescue & mud rescue, according to South Euclid's Fire Department website.

The team practices once every other month and gets called for those specialized rescues about two or three times a year, he said.

"Any time we have a need for this we can send trained guys out there, he said while waiting his own turn to repel. "It's the most efficient use of our resources."

Check back for dramatic photos of their training or, if you too photos, share them with Patch.