VIDEO: Falls happen on ice, in homes, and outside.
When EMS and fire crews respond, Des Moines Fire says it's easy for them to get hurt when lifting someone that has fallen.
That's why Jeff Downing, an engineer with Des Moines fire, created the Jak Harness.
"I felt the need to create this because in recent years we've been going on more and more calls of people that have fallen down and they're not injured and they can't get up," Downing said.
Des Moines fire crews have gone out on 700 public assist calls since last September. The thought is that the Jak Harness will make the calls easier.
"I had this idea and I'm like, 'I'm just going to try it,' explains Downing. "It's been working really well!"
The Jak Harness has been in the hands of first responders for a month and was used on four different apparatus calls.
Downing says that the Ames and Bondurant fire departments are one of the few stations in the area testing out the product.