Modesto City Fire Department and Oakdale Irrigation District participated in a trench safety and rescue drill on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at OID’s north side reservoir.
The trench rescue training consisted of “rescuing” one victim buried in dirt from the waist down. The site was prepared to replicate a common underground irrigation line that was four feet wide, eight feet deep and 20 feet long.
A total of 23 City of Modesto Fire Department rescue team members participated in the trench rescue training exercise.
These trench exercises are valuable training for emergency personnel, which in the moment, can mean life or death to the trapped victim.
According to OID Safety Coordinator Gabriel Santos, “The hands-on manipulative skills training exercise went very well and concluded with no injuries and lots of real life training experiences and ‘Lessons Learned’.”