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218-730-4400 •www.duluthmn.gov
Public Information Officer at 218-730-5309
SUBJECT: Members of Duluth Fire to participate in Arborist Rescue Training
BY: Kate Van Daele, Public Information Officer
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Members of Duluth Fire to participate in Arborist Rescue Training
[Duluth, MN] Later today, members of the Duluth Fire Department will participate in a new type of aerial training – from trees. An arborist instructor team lead by locally-owned Levy Tree Care will be teaching crews how to prepare for and perform simple and complex aerial rescues safely and efficiently while following established rescue protocols and procedures. The training will take place in Portland Square Park.
Aerial rescue training like this one allows fire departments and arborists to work together to perform aerial rescues using equipment carried and techniques typically used by fire departments blended with equipment and techniques commonly used by arborists.
“Aerial Rescue training within the tree care industry has a well-established curriculum and protocol,” Instructor Louise Levy of Levy Tree Care said. “While arborist aerial rescue training with first responders is often a full- or multi-day event, my co-leader and I wanted to create a half-day training that could fit into the time constraints of the fire departments and our instructor team. We want to build relationships with first responders that grow over time.”
“We rely on a core set of advanced skills that we apply to technical rescue responses ranging from high-angle to confined spaces to communications towers,” Captain Dan Smith said. “This training will allow us to see how our core skills can be applied to some very unique challenges that arborists will present.”
The goal of the training is to integrate the equipment and skills of the Duluth Fire Department with a profession that presents some very specialized occupational hazards.
“We see this as an iterative training, adapting to the needs, experience levels, and equipment knowledge within the Duluth Fire Department,” Levy said.
“No emergency is the same,” Smith said. “Trainings like this help to keep our minds fresh, teach new skills, and challenge our crews to use skills that we have in new ways. We are grateful to Louise and her team for providing us with this training that can prepare us for future responses.”
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