They’re skills you might see firefighters using at the scene of vehicle crashes classified as “heavy rescues” – cutting through wreckage to get people out, for example – but on Friday, those skills were deployed in a different scenario. At the city’s Joint Training Facility, in the southeasternmost corner of West Seattle (map), crews faced the challenge of wrecked cars and collapsed concrete, as might be faced after bombings. The JTF has a very realistic setup to mimic that kind of rubble:

Ahead, more scenes from Friday’s training – and a detailed explanation of the scenario:

It was an all-day session, involving personnel from other areas as well as Seattle. Here’s a wider look at the area where they were working when we arrived:

Here’s West Seattle-based SFD Lt. Mike Daigle, explaining the exact scenario – much more than “something blew up and people have to be saved”:

When crews go through this training, they get experience with a variety of equipment, some of which they might never – but definitely have to know how to – use:

There are, of course, dummies in place, playing the role of victims in need of rescue. First they have to be reached:

Then, pulled out:

And once stabilized, off the “patient” goes …

For a summary of the more-common ways in which some of this training might be deployed – check this SFD page.

P.S. If you’d like to see Seattle firefighters in action in a far-less-dramatic setting – it’s Firefighter Story Time at the High Point branch of the Seattle Public Library this Wednesday (October 12), 1:30 pm!