TULSA, Okla. — Members of Oklahoma Task Force 1 and the Oklahoma Army National Guard partnered to train 17 first responders at the Tulsa Fire Safety Center on Thursday.
Training included helicopter rescues with the help of a chopper from the Oklahoma Army National Guard. It’s part of their training for the helicopter search and rescue swim team.
Terry Sivadon is the Rescue Coordinator for OK-TF1. He told FOX23 how basket lifts work, which is a tactic used by first responders to rescue people with a helicopter.
“This one would be used for smaller children that wouldn’t fit into our standard harness, or a person with a pet that could both fit into the basket, or an elderly person,” said Sivadon.
Thursday’s training session focused on rescuing people from floods. “We do it every month, and the team has been together for six years now. We have 12 rescue swimmers and four aircrafts,” said Sivadon.
OK-TF1 can respond to emergencies anywhere in the state.
Pilots also took part in Thursday’s training session. Pilots and crew chiefs are required to fly for so many hours and perform a certain amount of hoists each month.
Sivadon says these training sessions are crucial, as it prepares first responders for a real emergency.
“This is real handy and this is the last resort. If we can’t rescue them by boat or fire truck, we hoist people off of rooftops. We have even deployed to several hurricanes.”
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