Seattle Area Firefighter's Drill at Space Needle; Practice Rescues 520 Feet In The Air
It was just a chance for rescue crews to sharpen their skills in a rare practice run. Call it graduation for a class on high technical rescue.
All morning long, some of this area's most elite firefighters got a training experience like no other, dangling 520 feet in the air over the side of Seattle's most famous landmark.
They're practicing for what would happen if a worker fell or was injured while working along the observation deck's outer halo for maintenance work. The workers all wear safety harnesses to keep them from falling to the ground, but someone's got to go get them.
During one practice run, Seattle firefighter Tim Danosky dangled over the edge of the Needle as if he were an injured worker. So fellow Seattle firefighter Jesse Radowski was rappelling off the halo. The task was to put Danosky into a basket and then both rappel all the way down to the ground.
When asked if this was the biggest drop he had ever done, Radowski said, "Yep, first time off the Space Needle. It was fun, though. Great ride," adding that he's ready to go back if someone ever gets in trouble.
While the mood was lighthearted and exciting, the work was serious -- and especially reassuring to the workers at the Space Needle who routinely walk around on the halo for maintenance work.
"It's great, you want to know that the firemen have such expertise and the precautions that they take, it's incredible," said Space Needle Halo Worker Steve Geiger.
It's been 1988 since they've last done training like this. No halo worker has ever been injured on the Needle.
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