FALL RIVER, Mass. — The Massachusetts Association of Technical Rescue Specialists (MATRS) staged its annual multi-agency training at Battleship Cove in Fall River, creating realistic rescue scenarios to sharpen firefighter skills.
The nonprofit has run the exercise for the past three years. This year’s drills, which took place in mid-September, included high-angle rescues and dive team operations. Organizers said the hands-on practice prepares crews for some of the most complex and dangerous incidents, WJAR reported.
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“We make sure they have the ability to do rescues at a high-end rope environment, in a confined space rescue, for a trench rescue, for a structural rescue, for a tower rescue,” Massachusetts Rescue Team Training Coordinator Ian McGregor said. “These firefighters train throughout the year with their team to be able to accomplish these recues and our organization, MATRS, gives these challenges to the teams the ability to practice and perform together.”
“This year we have incorporated dive rescue into our challenge and since this is the first time we’ve incorporated it, we made it more of a meet and greet for dive teams,” McGregor said.
To sustain and expand this specialized training, organizers say they’re pursuing additional funding. Each team currently relies on its own funding sources, with no standardized system, and efforts are underway at the state level to integrate support into fire department services.
