First responders from throughout the state spent a week in Meridian as they participated in a structural collapse training course at the Meridian Public Safety Facility.

Public Safety Director Doug Stephens said the 80-hour course is aimed at preparing emergency workers to respond to a collapsed building and give them the knowledge and skills necessary to rescue trapped victims.

“They teach emergency responders how to search, rescue and recover individuals from buildings that have collapsed due to whether it be manmade or natural disasters,” he said.

A total of 32 responders participated in the training, Stephens said, with agencies from all over the state represented. Once trained, the responders will be able to go back to their home communities and share what they learned with others, he said.

Don Kuhn, an instructor with Spec Rescue International, a Virginia-based company selected to conduct the training, said the eight day course covered a variety of topics and skills needed to respond to a collapse, such as shoring to stabilize rubble, cutting through debris and lifting large slabs.

“These guys are in the seventh day of an eight-day structural class technicians class,” he said Tuesday. “They’ve been through evolutions on how to shore up buildings with lumber. They’ve been through two days of breaching and breaking concrete. We’ve also been through two more days, this is the second day, of lifting and moving heavy objects. So all these skills go in to being able to mitigate hazards and to make access and get inside to rescue victims when we have a collapse due to earthquakes or tornadoes, hurricanes, things like that.”

First responders were also exposed to several different methods of moving heavy debris, Kuhn said, as each situation is unique, and responders can’t always rely on specialized equipment being available. Trainees were able to work with a crane to move concrete slabs, but they also practiced using simple levers made from regular lumber.

Using simple mechanical tools, Kuhn said, first responders can reach victims in places where heavy equipment can’t go or when it isn’t available.

Oxford Fire Department’s Ronnie Taylor said the training helps responders assess the scene when arriving at an emergency call and understanding what needs to happen from there. Responding to a structural collapse is not something most firefighters are trained in, he said, and being able to assess the situation, take stock of what tools are available and make a game plan is extremely helpful.

“We come as firefighters. We don’t really know the knowledge base,” he said, “So we’re here to take and gain the knowledge of what to do from an emergency response standpoint and what we would have to do on scene.”

Taylor said having the training and instruction on what to do and being able to share that with his fellow firefighters back home will help keep both first responders and the community safer.

“Knowledge is power,” he said.

Meridian Public Safety Facility has held the structural collapse training several times over the past 15-20 years, Stephens said, with funding being made available every three years or so. The cost for the course was paid for through the Mississippi Department of Homeland Security.