The Kane County Chronicle has an article about a unique training opportunity for firefighters with the Elburn & Countryside FPD.
As members of the Elburn and Countryside Fire Protection District waited for dispatch to sound the start of a machine entrapment drill Thursday afternoon, Chief Kelly Callaghan said training exercises are common for his team.
But he and training officer Lt. Mike Huneke acknowledged [the] technical rescue team drill at the Lafarge gravel pit was different. In entrapment situations, Huneke said, the [plant] workers would be valuable because they know how the machinery works … Conducting drills on site rather than at a training facility gives [firefighters] a chance to see what they might encounter during a real-life situation … Upon arrival, the [firefighters] climbed a series of stairs on a piece of machinery to reach a rescue mannequin several stories [up].
Plant manager Doug Averkamp said he invited the fire district to the work site because in his industry you always have to be prepared
