North Adams Fire Department Hosts Trench Rescue Training
 Firefighters stabilize a trench at DiSanti Field as a part of a trench rescue exercise |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You see them everywhere during construction season — deep trenches with crews working on water and sewer pipes, foundations, electrical lines.
Contractors may take efforts to ensure their stability, but a collapse, even a partial one, can turn a trench into a deadly trap.
"It happens more often than it's reported," said Mark McCabe, technical rescue coordinator and instructor at the state Fire Academy. "Where there's a lot of work going on, we're getting a lot of reports —but many more go underreported."
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Agency reports that some 350 people died in trenching or excavation cave-ins between 2000 and 2009. The agency says 64 percent of fatalities were in trenches less than 10 feet deep.
"People are working in trenches everyday around here," said Fire Director Stephen Meranti. "Whether it's on a public job site or private site, the potential is there."
Trench rescue is becoming an integral part of rescue training for first responders. That's why if you'd driven by DiSanti Field one weekend last month, you would have seen more than two dozen firefighters working around a pit.
The training is part of the onsite technical courses offered around the state at various times. This was the first trench training to be held in North Adams and it included firefighters from across the state, many of whom had been waiting for a chance to attend.
"Everything was new to me," said Eric Ciecko, a firefighter and emergency medical technician from Granby who tried six times to get on the training list. "There's a lot of safety involved but with the right instructor, it's going very smooth."
Ciecko was one of 20 to 22 firefighters from from Lawrence, Fitchburg, Hingham, Agawam, Lenox, Southborough and Granby, along with six North Adams firefighters, taking the four-day course.
Despite the different names on their helmets and T-shirts, and that many were meeting for the first time, "everyone has grown to really respect each other, they have worked out exceptionally well," said McCabe.
He said it was a "massive commitment" for them, since most firefighters come on their own time and cover their costs for travel and motels. "North Adams has been an awesome host," he said.
Firefighters can wait a year or more to get into a course, depending on when instructors can schedule a time and location. A recent ropes rescue course had 80 people waiting to get in, said McCabe.
The city's Department of Public Works had dug the trench near the ballfield, pulling up ash and bottles from the ground. Firefighters laid down plywood around the opening and began to insert large boards to stabilize the sides.
A firefighter worked his way down into the ditch only to be stopped by an instructor: "Stop, look to your right!" The wall of dirt was crumbling where a root was sticking out.
It didn't seem like much, but it exhibited the potential for collapse. A cubic yard of dirt can weigh 3,000 pounds, according to OSHA.
"This is not about speed, we have to put the brakes on. ... We have to become cautious, we have to be careful," said McCabe. "It makes the instructor think, it makes the firefighter think."
Over the four days, each firefighter would take turns stabilizing walls using wooden supports, jacks and airbags; entering and exiting; treating a "victim," a mannequin, in the trench and removing it safely.
The trainers, all active or retired firefighters, were accompanied by a van filled with wood for about every use and a variety of tools.
Once they get through the four days and certification, said McCabe, "they will have the skills if they need to respond to something like this."
"There is a lot to it — I never thought that trench rescue would be this involved," said North Adams firefighter Brent Lefebvre. "If something does occur we want to be prepared. We want to be as prepared as we can."
The trainers were:
Mark McCabe, technical rescue coordinator,Braintree firefighter
Lt. Thomas Rinoldo, assistant coordinator, Framingham Fire Department
William Vecchio, Winthrop firefighter
Fran Clark, Hopkinton firefighter
Lt. Steven Murphy, Hingham Fire Department
Robert Cembor, Warwick, R.I., firefighter
Peter Raposa, retired lieutenant for Fall River Fire Department
Richard Hartman, retired deputy chief
David Wiklund, deputy chief Wrentham Fire Department
