Yuma and Tucson fire departments hold annual rope rescue training

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Yuma and Tucson Fire Department held their annual rope rescue training at Sanguinetti Park Friday morning.

The training prepares firefighters for rope rescue when saving palm tree workers.

“Because these are rare events, but they are very critical events when they do happen, it requires a lot of training for very few events. But when that happen, that’s where really the value of this training comes in,” said Battalion Chief Alvin Luedtke.

The Yuma and Tucson Fire Department joined together practicing different climbing and rope rescuing techniques. The fire department said palm tree emergencies are a low frequency but high-risk situation.

The Yuma fire captain said they usually run into these situations when tree workers have a medical emergency while on the tree.

“Maybe they have a heart attack or a stroke. Heat exhaustion is really common in Yuma. It’s really hot," said Fire Captain David Padilla Jr. "In that instance, we’ll generally climb up the palm tree and use the same techniques that the worker uses to get into the palm tree."

Workers can also experience emergencies if the heavy tree fronds fall on them.

"It can weigh up to 2,500- 3,000 pounds. It’s filled with dirt, bugs, bird nests everything else, and the weight of that landing on a worker's chest essentially could suffocate them or crush them,” said Fire Captain David Padilla Jr. "So in that instance, we would do what we’re doing here which is we would send our ropes over the palm tree, hoist a rescuer up there, try to pick that person off the tree."

The fire department said with the training, they hope to become more prepared to safely and efficiently handle the situation when it happens.

The fire department encourages homeowners to hire a professional tree trimming company to avoid running into these emergency situations.