Norfolk Rescue Teams Train in Ropes Rescue
By Jonathan Barbagallo

Does the thought of hanging by a rope on the side of a 75 foot cliff scare
you? Well you can rest easy knowing that members of the Norfolk Fire
Department and the Lions Club Ambulance have learned new methods of
coming to your rescue.
Over a period of two weeks in June, eight members of both organizations
were trained by instructors from VNZ Rescue Services of Watertown, Conn.
in order to become members of the two rope rescue teams in the Northwest
Corner. The 45 hours of classroom and practical sessions taught the
volunteers about the characteristics of ropes and webbing, pulley systems
and the techniques of rappelling and use of a Stokes Basket.
The class, hosted at the Norfolk firehouse, cost $325 per person and was
paid for by the departments’ training funds. In addition to Norfolk’s
volunteers, Lakeville, Cornwall, Drakeville, Winsted, and Sharon Fire
Departments were also represented.
Injuries on the Appalachian Trail, river rescues on the Mad River, and
evacuations by helicopter in dangerous terrain are made simpler by the
knowledge that these teams now have. In fact, a week after completing the
training, Norfolk volunteers joined Winsted in assisting with the extrication
of a victim who fell off a bridge behind the community college. The Stokes
basket, ropes and pulleys were employed to pull him 75 feet up the river
embankment.