On 6, 7 and 8 February 2017, in accordance with the monthly professional development plan, three shifts of firemen from Fire and Rescue Unit No. 3, as well as rescuers from Kowala and Wola Murowana Volunteer Fire Brigade participated in drills in a raw material mill at the Dyckerhoff Cement Plant in Nowiny.

In the course of the drills, the rescuers were to learn about:

• access roads,
• technological process of stone (raw material) grinding in the rotating mill,
• OHS rules and conditions during rescue operations consisting in evacuation of an employee who fainted while performing maintenance works inside the mill,
• improving cooperation between the “Kielce 3” Specialised High Altitude Rescue Team and the scouts from the Voluntary Fire Brigade,
• techniques of evacuation of an injured person using rope techniques in the basic and specialised high altitude rescue scope within the National Firefighting and Rescue System.

The drills also helped to improve skills and cooperation with cement plant employees during rescue operations.

During the drills, the following equipment was used: mountaineering equipment of the Specialised High Altitude Rescue Team, Rollgliss evacuation device and a scoop stretcher. Due to the technical conditions in the mill, the injured person trapped inside the mill could only be evacuated through the upper inspection door.

The operations of high altitude rescuers were performed in teams consisting of 3 or 4 people at two posts. The drills ran smoothly, and the targets and tactical objectives were achieved. 40 firemen in total participated in the drills.

Prepared by: Captain Marek Dyk