April 20, 2022 — Firefighters visited the former City of Placerville Water Treatment Plant today as part of a shift-wide rope rescue drill. Firefighters simulated an injured worker, a dummy constructed of fire hose, who had fallen into an open sedimentation basin and later into a coagulation/flocculation basin. One scenario required firefighters to practice low-angle rope rescue operations (LARRO), where a system of ropes that provide mechanical advantage is used to lower in rescuers to a victim and to later retrieve the rescuers and the victim from the steeply sloped area.

The second scenario, in the coagulation/flocculation basins, required the firefighters to consider the presence of hazardous materials, lock-out-tag-out safety practices and considerations for confined spaces. These types of incidents in industrial settings are rare but also pose a high risk to the lives of the victims and our firefighters.  Because of that high-risk, low-frequency nature drills like this one are perfect content for refresher training topics.

The El Dorado County Fire Protection District is grateful to the City of Placerville for allowing access to this decommissioned facility for trainings such as this LARRO drill. The District could not conduct trainings like this without access to such facilities.