Future firefighters from Fox Valley Technical College recently put their skills to the test at High Cliff State Park, where they practiced technical rope rescue techniques used in real-world emergency situations.
As part of FVTC’s Fire Protection Technician associate degree program, students spent the day building and operating rope systems before rappelling down the park’s limestone cliffs and completing a rescue scenario using a mannequin on a gurney.
The exercise capped eight weeks of training, during which students learned knot tying, anchor systems and rescue operations.
“Everything just keeps compounding on one another,” says student Dalton Wiese. “The first week we’re learning how to tie the knots, the second week we’re learning how to put the knots into the rope systems and make anchor points. Eventually, you get here to eight weeks and we’re lowering that guy down there and bringing him back up.”
Adjunct Fire Instructor Bud Gadow said hands-on experiences like the High Cliff exercise help prepare students for the challenges they may encounter throughout their careers.
“Textbook learning for the theoretical side of firefighting is important,” Bud says. “But honestly, we’re strictly a hands-on business, so this is a very, very important class that the students do take.”
Bud says technical rescue training has become increasingly important for fire departments nationwide and helps students develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed on the job.
“You have to think creatively in order to be a good firefighter,” he says.
The training provides students with practical experience while helping prepare them to serve communities throughout Wisconsin and beyond.
