Training Never Stops!
Today, C-Shift was working with Tower 814 doing some ladder training consisting of driving, stabilization, then aerial operations. For aerial operations, the crews tied a cone to the bucket and the operator had to get the cone on top of another cone. The operator was blindfolded but the operator had a spotter at the turntable (for safety) and a spotter on radio to the operator to direct him on where to navigate the sticks. This drill builds communications skills, aerial skills, feathering the controls, and memorizing where the controls are so they don't have to look down when operating on a real scene. The entire drill is about fluid movement and team building. Unit: Tower 814