The Western Taney County Fire Technical Rescue Team will find themselves well prepared the next time they’re called to the scene of a collapsed trench.

Tim Church of the Branson Tri-Lakes News reports on the training that took place earlier this month:

On Tuesday, March 15, TRT members conducted trench rescue training in Branson. The training took place from 6 to 9 p.m., so crews experienced the training in both daylight and at night. Western Taney County Fire Chief Chris Berndt explained the training process the TRT experienced.

“We were practicing for a potential collapse in a trench. If a worker is installing a water line or doing repairs, the trench would cave in on top of them. That’s what we practiced for,” Berndt said. “The first round, what we practiced on, was just to secure the trench basically with shoring to make it secured. Then the next thing we did, we put our victim in there, which tonight was a bucket, and then put some dirt on top of it, so they had to work around that a little more. We still did not have a fully collapsed trench, but it obviously still worked.” 

While they mostly are involved in rescues involving rope work, Berndt said the TRT also prepares themselves for other rescue situations, including structural collapse training. 

“If there’s a collapse of a building and then obviously the trench is another one that we do,” Berndt said. “Then we also have the water side for the water rescue, swift water and diving rescue. We do that also. This is just a few people that go above and beyond regular firefighters training. 

Basically what they boil down to is anybody who wants to join Western would become a firefighter first and then once they are a full-fledged firefighter then they can join the team if they want to.”

As for when a trench collapse can happen, Berndt explained the most common scenarios.

“If you look at statistics, this mostly will happen during repair work or hooking up a house. Normally, if it’s a great big job, they’ll have more shoring there. But it’s the smaller jobs that this stuff happens,” Berndt said. “The type of soil we have, it has so much rock in it, so it’s pretty stable for the most part and that’s why a lot of people do not use any shoring and that’s what gets them in trouble. There’s a lot of people who do this for 10, 15 or maybe 20 years and got away with it and then one day they don’t, that’s when we get involved.”

The TRT members were hosted by Ozark Mountain Adventure Owner Halley Fleming, who not only provided them with a place to train, but a catered picnic style dinner from Local Flavor. Fleming said she was proud to welcome the TRT onto her property for the training. 

“These firefighters work so hard for our community, so being able to give them a place to train and prepare themselves with new skills and knowledge was the very least I could do,” Fleming said. “These guys are all heroes. When an emergency happens, these are just some of the dedicated individuals you hope will also be responding to the scene. Plus, it was great to have the opportunity to see them in action up close. I learned a lot myself just from watching.”

Ozark Mountain Excavating Owner Chris Sidfrid also contributed his time to the event by digging the trench for the TRT to train with. 

For many of the firefighters, Berndt shared this was their first chance to participate in a trench training session. 

For many of the firefighters, Berndt shared this was their first chance to participate in a trench training session. 

“What we did tonight for the trench park was pretty basic stuff,” Berndt said. “I think it went pretty well. The first time they use some of these tools and panels, stuff looks pretty cumbersome…but after a while they get the hang of it and things get much better.”

Berndt added they are always looking for good help and would encourage anyone interested in learning more about the Western Taney County Fire Protection District or the Technical Training Team to visit their Facebook page or website at westerntaneyfire.com.