By Ryan Mills
The Naples Daily News (Florida)
NAPLES, Fla. — On Wednesday morning emergency workers dug through the rubble in a small Oklahoma town in search of victims after a line of severe tornados leveled homes, collapsed buildings and killed at least eight people.
At the same time, about 1,400 miles to the southeast, North Naples firefighters were also digging through rubble, making sure they’re prepared if a similar catastrophe were to occur in Southwest Florida.
At 9:30 a.m. about a dozen members of the North Naples Technical Rescue Team were tasked with finding two victims - dummies really - in a collapsed house at 702 Myrtle Road in the Pine Ridge neighborhood. The house was donated to the fire department to use for training by the homeowner, who is demolishing it.
Before they entered the house, which was systematically knocked down by the team’s commander, Lt. Erik Espineta, the firefighters had to stabilize the roof and walls with wooden shoring they built themselves.
Everyone wore helmets, goggles, gloves and dust masks, but even though it was only training, there is always some danger involved anytime someone is digging around in a partially demolished building.
“We have concerns all the time,” said Battalion Chief Andy Percival, who is in charge of training for the department. “We try to take every safeguard possible.”
It took about 45 minutes for the firefighters to stabilize the roof far enough into the home to locate the first victim, who was found under debris in the kitchen. In a real situation they would probably speed things up and take more risks, Espineta said, but in training it’s more important to do the exercises correctly.
“I’d rather you slow down, do things right,” he said.
For three days last week, before the house was demolished, firefighters performed ventilation training inside, knocking holes in walls and ceilings. This week they conducted search-and-rescue training in the home at 9 a.m. Monday through Wednesday.
Percival said his department gets the opportunity to train in a donated house every couple of months or so.
“It’s invaluable to us,” he said.
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