A joint team of firefighters from Midland and Saginaw dangled from the rafters at the Dow Event Center Thursday, sharpening their rappelling skills as part of a weeklong technical rescue training.
The 10-man team trained with two instructors from the Michigan Urban Search And Rescue Training Foundation, simulating a rescue of a dangling worker and switching lines to bypass knots in the rope.
Firefighters rappel over Dow Event Center hockey rink for rescue training
"A lot of what we're doing is about building confidence," said Joaquin Martinez, an instructor with the foundation, "For some of these fellas, it's their first rope class. It's important to be secure and confident in your equipment."
In addition to braving heights and rigging harnesses, firefighters practiced basic rope maneuvers, most of which required them to lift their full body weight multiple times.