FEMA USAR Structural Collapse Class

Trailer on Site
Shoring Class - Raker Shore
Certification stickers on a helmet
Air Bag lifting to pop the water balloon.
Raise the offset unbalanced irregular concrete up and pop the water balloon.

Raise the 4x8 slab, build a bridge, and trundle "Big Mo" over the obstacle under the slab.

"A-Frame" for lifting "Big Mo" over a Stokes basket without spilling a cup of water.

3600 lb. " Big Mo" is almost home on the O Course.

Chip hammer in action after drilling overhead exposing the rebar in a confined space.

Cutting Rebar overhead in a confined space after a dirty breach.

After two days in the rain and numerous concrete breaches -The gear is filthy.

Breaching the wall we found a Telephone pole in the middle of the vault

Cutting our way through

Entrance to team 2's Search area after the 3500 lb. block was removed and entry was made

Inside the vault showing Breaches that we completed to get to the victim

The Collapsed Structure for the final Exercise

Recovering a victim from a confined space

The Pink Blocks are our 6 Victims that we located and recovered.

The North Carolina Department of Insurance - OSFM offers many Fire and Rescue Certifications. In addition to the Rescue Technician VMR, there are several Rescue Specialties including: Rope Specialty (Chapter 6), Trench Specialty (Chapter 11), Surface Water Rescue(Chapter 7), Confined Space (Chapter 9), and Structural Collapse (Chapter 10). Check this link for a listing of the hours required for each.
RESCUE TECHNICIAN SPECIALTY CLASSES

Landis Fire Training Captain David Barlow just completed the
97 hour FEMA USAR Structural Collapse Class that satisfies the NC Structural Collapse Specialty requirements. There were 12 students in the class and it was held at Cleveland County Community College. The Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department in Shelby assisted Captain Barlow by providing a place to stay during the 9 day class.

The class was instructed by Battalion Chief Kevin Gordon of the Charlotte Fire Academy, Captain Brent Gordon CFD Truck 13 Haz Mat, Captain Tom Billig CFD Rescue 3, Captain Ken Hogue Engine 5 CFD, Jodie Blanton of the Gastonia Fire Department, Battalion Chief Barry Wilson of the Gastonia Fire Department. They were also assisted by a Captain from CFD on Rescue 10. This class was one of the more "Hard Core" Rescue Classes experienced during Captain Barlow's 31 year fire service career. The other students in the class were all members of the Gaston County EMS S.T.A.R. Team


The FEMA USAR Structural Collapse Manual and FOG Manual were used along with the USAR Shoring Guide.

FEMA USAR Pages are a wonderful resource for this type of Rescue.

DISASTERENGINEER.ORG has a complete selection of manuals for use with Structural Collapse including the FOG Manual, Shoring Guide, HERS Manuals for download in their Library.

RESCUEDIRECT.COM For purchasing Hard Copies of the Army Corps of Engineers Field Operations Guide (FOG Manual) and the Shoring Manual.

Captain Barlow was selected by the instructors to have his name sent in to NASA for the Annual DART Class. Since 1992, NASA Ames Research Center has offered a six-day 60+ hour collapsed structure rescue class at the Ames Research Center in California. This annual class is sponsored by Ames Research Center's Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) and is designed for firefighters and Urban Search And Rescue specialists. Annually there are only 24 students in the nation that attend this class in California. One of the Instructors - Tom Billig from the class is one of the NASA DART Instructors. Check out their website to find out more.
NASA DART STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE CLASS