Training keeps standards high

scottw@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON --Today will wrap up three days of rescue training at the Do it Best Retail Service Center but a month ago it was no drill.

Both the training and the incident that led to a partnership between Do it Best safety officials, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety Fire Division and the South Scott County Ambulance District involved "high-angle rescue" responses, according to Sgt. Rick Colbert of Sikeston DPS. "That is anything above the floor. It can be inside a building or outside a building."

In this case, it was pretty far above the floor and inside.

"They have mezzanine racks that are three stories at several different places inside," Colbert said. The call last month was for an employee on an upper level -- about 20 feet up -- that had a medical issue, he said.

"Anytime you have a rescue event that is above ground level, it presents challenges for you," said Lt. Rick Rapert of Sikeston DPS. "So we assess the situation and find what going to be the safest environment in which to rescue the patient. That is the No. 1 priority: proper care for the patient."

The challenge in this case included an incapacitated patient, Rapert said.

"The person had passed out and was not able to walk," he said.

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