A trench collapse is one of the most dangerous situations a fire department can respond to, and Wednesday morning, local crews got some hands-on practice in a controlled environment.
Every six months, firefighters familiarize themselves with the equipment and the different scenarios. They have responded to trench collapses in the past, but because they're rare, drills keep the skills fresh in rescuers' minds.
"We don't respond to a lot of them," said Omaha fire Capt. Jim Palensky. "It's a low-frequency type incident, but a very high-hazard incident."
The Metropolitan Utilities District provided the land and dug the trench for firefighters to practice in on Wednesday.
Copyright 2005 by TheOmahaChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.
