Photo courtesy of Natalie Osborne
Girdwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue’s Technical Rescue Team conducting water rescue training on 20 Mile River. Members shown from left to right: Ryan Schlueter, Robert Mullowney, Raquel Lynch, Gerry Kempton. Members not shown: Manch Garhart, Zac Johnson, Terry Kadel, Natalie Osborne and Karl Schultz.
By Natalie Osborne
Special to the Turnagain Times
Summers in Alaska bring out the tourists, as well as many outdoors enthusiasts, and between April and September, the Girdwood Fire Department typically sees an increase in backcountry and water-related emergencies. According to Chief Chadwick, the fire department responds to between twelve and fifteen calls a year for rescue in backcountry areas, Turnagain arm and on the Girdwood trail system.
In the winter of 2010, Girdwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue (GVFR) recognized the need for a higher-level of knowledge and skill when it comes to backcountry search and rescue operations, and developed a Technical Rescue Team, within the department. The GVFR Technical Rescue Team consists of senior department members who train specifically for search and rescue operations. While every medic and firefighter at the Girdwood Fire Department is trained to a high standard of care, the Technical Rescue Team can assist and lead other agencies with regards to strategy and planning during rescue operations.
Recently, the Girdwood Fire Department responded to a 911 call to the Winner Creek Hand Tram. Two tourists were stranded on the hand tram, when it became inoperable, unable to move forward or backwards. Under the guidance of Captain Mullowney, a member of GVFR’s Technical Rescue Team, and using limited rope rescue equipment, a mechanical advantage rope system was implemented and the hand tram’s occupants were heaved safely to the side of the gorge.
Just one day later, the Girdwood Fire Department was called to another incident requiring a high-angle rope rescue, when tandem paragliders became entangled on Chair 4 at Alyeska Resort. Firefighters and members from the Technical Rescue Team assisted the Alyeska Ski Patrol and the Lift Maintenance crew with a modified chairlift evacuation to rescue the tandem paragliders.
Rescue operations like these require multiple resources with a very specific skill-set. Working off of a yearly training plan, the GVFR Technical Rescue Team is building upon these skill-sets one certification at a time. Currently, its members are capable of low and medium-angle rope rescues, cold and swift-water rescues, and backcountry or avalanche search and rescue operations.
Assistant Chief and Technical Rescue Team Advisor, Terry Kadel explains, “We are pacing ourselves and making sure that we are fully capable and prepared. Being prepared also means having the right equipment—the right tools for the job. Purchasing needed equipment is just one of the tasks on our plate.”
The Technical Rescue Team is currently operating solely on donations, because there was no room in the Girdwood Fire Department budget to support it. Instructors have generously donated their time and Rescue Team members are paying out-of-pocket for all costs associated with certifications.
“It’s a tremendous commitment level,” states one team member. “Most certifications require many hours of training and studying, on top of our normal shift requirements at the Fire Department. But we know there is a need for these rescue capabilities in our response area and we want to make sure we are ready.”
Members of the Technical Rescue Team are certified CPR/First Aid Instructors and have earned funding for much needed equipment by teaching CPR/First Aid classes to the public, and then donating the class fees back to the Technical Rescue Team. If you are in need of CPR/First Aid Certification (or a Refresher), please contact the Girdwood Fire Department at 907-783-2511 to schedule a class.
If you ever find yourself needing emergency assistance in the backcountry, including the Winner Creek Hand Tram, please call 911 for help. Depending on your location and the nature of the call, emergency dispatchers will send the appropriate resource to your location.
