Rare opportunity for emergency responders to review drills

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Local emergency crews had the rare opportunity to brush up on their life saving skills in a controlled environment. They spent Friday inside a partially demolished buildingin downtown Indianapolis.

There were parts of the structure that were in shambles, which created a perfect the perfect area for crews to practice on.

Each team had 10 firefighters that entered into the building together.

It was pitch black in the building, the floor was broken up and the roof was caved in.

The size of the space where the emergency response teams reviewed drills was equivalent to an Olympic size pool.

They reviewed rope angle rescue drills in the dark basement that had a 15 feet drop.

The Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) only trains on rope angle rescues three times a year and rarely in a building in such disarray.

“This will not only help save those in need, but the responders who put their life on the line when disaster strikes. We want to do this type of training when there is a downtime to keep them fresh for when a real life situation comes up,” said Scott Huff with the IFD.

IFD plans on practicing a few more times in the same building since they have access to it for the whole month of May.