Firefighters Train For Rescues in Uncooperative Weather
Santa Barbara County firefighters used Wednesday’s gusty winds along the Gaviota coast to their advantage.
At one point, they were hesitant to bring out the helicopter for the exercise, but decided that it’s better to train under bad conditions than perfect conditions.
“We don’t always get our rescues on nice, warm, calm days,” said Capt. Dave Zaniboni, Santa Barbara County Fire Department. “So a lot of the times when we do get our rescues, it will be on a day like this where we have gusty winds. That’s when you’ll find your swimmers and kayakers and surfers in trouble. It’s realistic for us.”
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Ynez air support unit also teamed up with county firefighters to simulate a water rescue. The goal was to get rescue swimmers re-certified to save lives during these ocean rescues.
The strong winds also helped in Wednesday’s exercise in preparing for El Nio conditions. The exercise focused on several different rescuing techniques to hoist victims out of the water.
Despite the strong winds, emergency crews finished the day with successful rescues.
