On Thursday, August 27, 2009 the Busch Gardens theme park in Tampa will host a swift water rescue training class. About 40 rescuers from fire departments around the State of Florida and their seasoned instructors will be given access to the Congo River Rapids water ride. This class will prepare these rescuers to use skills that could saves lives during urban flood and swiftly moving water rescue situations. The environment provided by the water ride gives rescuers as close to real life training as is possible in a controllable location. The arrangement between Busch Gardens and the rescue class is the only one of its kind in Florida and possibly the nation. The rescuers are members of Florida Task Force 3 (FL-TF3) and Central Florida Task Force 4 (FL-TF4). They are participating in a 40-hour Urban Flood Rescue class. The class is being conducted under the auspices of the Florida State Fire College using grant money provided by the Department of Homeland Security.
The class provides members of FL-TF3 and TF4 the knowledge and skills necessary to deal with widespread water flooding situations.
Florida has nine USAR Task Forces who are well trained and equipped to deal with structural collapses and other urban search and rescue skills. Adding the urban flood rescue specialty to the team will enhance and improve the ability of Florida to respond to local and widespread disasters.
FL-TF3 is composed of rescuers from Tampa, Hillsborough County and St. Petersburg Fire Rescues. FL-TF4 is composed of rescuers from Orlando, Orange County and Seminole County. The class is conducted by Safety Solutions Incorporated of Boynton Beach, Florida.
Duration : 0:9:49