The top of their game: Ladder drills keep first responders (high) up on rescue skills

Four Bainbridge Island firefighters, two senior staffers and two volunteers, took advantage of some brief quiet time Thursday to perform ladder drills at Station 23 on Phelps Road.

By Luciano Marano • July 14, 2016 3:45 pm
The view from the top: 100 feet above the ground in the extendable ladder during recent Bainbridge Island Fire Department drills.
The view from the top: 100 feet above the ground in the extendable ladder during recent Bainbridge Island Fire Department drills.

Four Bainbridge Island firefighters, two senior staffers and two volunteers, took advantage of some brief quiet time Thursday to perform ladder drills at Station 23 on Phelps Road.

They practiced unloading, deploying and utilizing various sized ladders, including a 14-, 24-, 35- and even 100-foot-long model.

Firefighters drill constantly as the workload allows, explained Bainbridge Island Fire Department Assistant Chief Luke Carpenter. The ultimate goal is for as much of a rescue procedure as possible to become muscle memory, he added, so that when it came time to do things for real it would be second nature to the responders.