Firefighters scale new heights using nine-story crane for climbing practice at Sanctuary Centers in Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Firefighters are scaling new heights in Santa Barbara.

Nine stories to be exact.

“We’ve been looking at this thing out of our station one window … all talking about what we would do if something happened," said fire training captain Jeremy Denton of Santa Barbara Public Safety.

The Santa Barbara City Fire is practicing their climbing skills at Sanctuary Centers' new building project site, located in the lot behind West Anapamu Street.

“Round of people that were coming through with just getting up there … seeing what would happen if maybe the operator had a medical aid and we had to go up there and get them down," said Denton.

“We heard that there were some first responders who needed a place to train with got better place than the nine-story cream that we have here … I heard from several of the first responders that I’ve never had an opportunity to climb a crane before," said director of marketing and development Lola Ban West of Sanctuary Centers.

Fire engine crews will be rotating through this training in the next few weeks.

“It’s a novelty in Santa Barbara to have a crane … so it’s our first time with a big stationary crane too. I thought it would be a good idea to invite them over," said President Paul Wieckowski of Schipper Construction.

"My hope is that we can continue to build strong partnerships and community collaborations," said Ban West.

The crane's presence offers firefighters a unique opportunity to practice their rescue and first-aid skills in an extreme scenario.

"They're going to climb to the top," said Denton.

Firefighters will climb the crane again on September 9th and 12th.