The regional professional skills competition “Best High Altitude Rescuer” was held in Vitebsk

 More than 75 teams of rescuers from regional emergency departments, as well as two fire rescue teams of the northern region: PASO “Vityaz” and PASO No. 1 OJSC “Naftan” took part in the competition.

The purpose of the competition was to improve the professional skills of fire rescuers when carrying out emergency rescue operations at height, as well as to practice the interaction of personnel in conditions as close as possible to combat conditions. The competition took place at two distances. The first involved a high-speed climb up flights of stairs to the 22nd floor of a high-rise building. The rescuers overcame more than 60 meters of vertical height in full combat gear weighing more than 20 kg with personal respiratory protection equipment. According to the conditions, if a participant removes the mask of the compressed air supply apparatus, the mission is failed, and the team automatically moves to the end of the scoring list.

“Participants in the gas and smoke protection service units of three people in full equipment get to the last floor along flights of stairs at speed,” noted Sergei Martinkevich, senior inspector of the combat readiness service department of the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. – The fastest teams complete the task in less than two minutes. During the second distance, participants demonstrated methods of rescuing people using industrial mountaineering skills necessary for working on construction sites, cell phone towers and other industrial facilities. The tasks included rescuing a suspended victim, lifting a load, and moving along an inclined crossing. The judges assumed penalty seconds for incorrectly performed elements. Compliance with safety precautions was also under special control.

The winners of the competition as part of a national team will represent the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations at the republican professional competition “The best high-altitude rescuer of emergency departments.”