Jefferson City firefighters train in the trenches

Firefighters slide a shoring panel down the wall and into place during training at Hyde Park Friday. Several members of the Jefferson City Fire Department participated the trench collapse training thanks to a FEMA grant the department received earlier this year.
Firefighters slide a shoring panel down the wall and into place during training at Hyde Park Friday. Several members of the Jefferson City Fire Department participated the trench collapse training thanks to a FEMA grant the department received earlier this year.

Twenty-five Jefferson City firefighters spent part of their Friday morning training for trench rescue situations at the department's Hyde Park Training Facility.

The lessons centered on securing both walls of a trench to prevent collapse, as well as teaching firefighters how to get to people in confined spaces.

"Our hope is to get 30 firefighters trained so we have 10 trained firefighters on each of the three shifts we have," said Capt. Steve Holtmeier.

The training is being done thanks to a FEMA grant the department received in July.

"These guys are volunteering their time because the grant did not cover overtime," Holtmeier said. "All these guys are being trained by our own guys who have gone through the training previously."

Holtmeier said this training will come into play when fire crews have to respond to accidents at gas line or water line work sites.

"What people don't realize is that when a trench collapses we just can't go in there immediately and start digging with shovels," he said. "We have to get boards up to stabilize the area we have to dig around and take other measures so we get victims out safely."

Holtmeier noted most local contractors already take the necessary precautions when they are doing trench work.

"We are also ahead of most other communities because we have a truck that has the equipment we need, ready to go, if a collapse takes place," Holtmeier said.