North Carolina Cell Tower Rescue Class

Aug. 22, 2005
The Atlantic Beach Fire Department in North Carolina hosted the first Cell Tower Rescue class taught in the state.

The Atlantic Beach Fire Department in North Carolina hosted the first Cell Tower Rescue class taught in the state.

The class was sponsored by Carteret Community College and the North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal. The class was conducted on a 360 foot cell phone tower. Departments from across the state participated in the class. The instructors for the class were Joe Burris with NCOSFM, Mark Rutherford with Gastonia Fire Department, Chief Adam Snyder and Captain Mike Simpson with Atlantic Beach Fire Department.

The class covered general cell phone tower awareness along with hazards associated with them. We conducted both structure based and ground based rescues. The class also covered climbing techniques such as lead-climbing, double lanyard and advanced placed. It was both physically and mentally demanding.

The class was run as a pilot program prior to being taught throughout the state of North Carolina.

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