The words “firefighter” and “carpentry” don’t often come up in the same sentence. But if a tornado or earthquake ever rumbles through town, firefighters with knowledge of carpentry, construction and a little physics might be exactly what’s needed for a rescue.Firefighters from Marthasville, Warrenton and five other fire agencies in the region gathered in Warrenton Saturday and Sunday for urban search and rescue training. The training will continue this weekend.If a large scale disaster ever strikes, help might not be coming very quickly, said Marthasville Assistant Fire Chief Sean Johnson. In the first hours of a disaster that threatens to collapse buildings and strand people inside, Johnson said local emergency teams need to know how to respond with what they have.“Our firefighters can respond with trained personnel and start saving lives, instead of waiting for high-level (state or regional) teams to get here,” he said.So firefighters are learning how to build wooden support structures for collapsing buildings, how to do rope rescues down steep slopes or buildings, how to calculate the weight of concrete slabs to lift or stabilize them. They’re also practicing breaking through barriers from the inside of a shoulder-height concrete tube, to simulate the confined space of a partial building collapse.The training combined a number of skill sets that aren’t normally associated with being a firefighter. That’s the nature of the job today, Johnson said. And whether professional or volunteer, he said the firefighters are enthusiastic to learn, even though it means time on the weekend away from their families.“These guys want to be the best they can for their communities in a time of need,” Johnson commented.The training was conducted by members of West County Fire Protection District and organized by the Warrenton and Marthasville fire districts. Fire agencies paid about $400 per attendee, Johnson said.“Luckily we had all the materials donated,” including lumber, hardware and concrete, he added. Without the support of many local businesses, the training wouldn’t have been possible.But this wasn’t a one-and-done event. This sort of readiness training will always be ongoing, said Warrenton Fire Captain Matt Dabbs.“When you get into this field, there are so many different disciplines of ‘firefighting,’ ” said Dabbs. “There’s EMS, confined space, high-angle rescue, structural collapse. There are so many disciplines that you have to stay current on, and these are perishable skills.”In other words, if you don’t use it, you lose it. That’s why Dabbs said every shift he has firefighters at least do rope training, along with other practice.

Firefighters from multiple agencies practice lifting and moving a 1,800-pound concrete slab using nothing but the tools from their truck and wooden blocks. The exercise was part of urban search and rescue training held at Warrenton Fire Protection District House One on April 28. 

Record photo/Adam Rollins

Firefighters from multiple agencies gather around a cutting table they just built during urban rescue training April 28 at Warrenton Fire House One. After a natural disaster, if buildings need to be stabilized, rescuers would build such a table at the scene to cut lumber for support structures.

Record photo/Adam Rollins