Phoenix Fire rescuers prepare for upcoming monsoon with mock water rescue

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - With the monsoon just one day away, the Phoenix Fire Department is preparing for swift water rescues that can occur when cars get swept away by rushing waters during monsoon storms.

“This is for our preparedness for the monsoon season coming up for swift water rescues, and we actually utilize Firebird 10 with Phoenix Police Department’s Air Support Unit and practice basically rescuing folks off of a stranded vehicle in a wash,” Captain Bobby Dubnow said.

Dubnow helped run the mock rescue drills on Wednesday morning in the canal near 7th Street and Pinnacle Peak in North Phoenix, where crews performed multiple mock rescues. “We’re going to position it and anchor it out in the center of the canal and that’s just going to simulate a vehicle, and we’ll put some people on it, simulating stranded victims on top of that vehicle in the water,” Dubnow said.

These trained firefighters, known as technical rescue technicians, respond to water, mountain, and other specialized rescues. This training is critical and helps during stressful situations when crews need to be prepared and act quickly to help rescue people in need.

“It’s very similar to what we do at the mountains when we do our hoist rescues at the mountains. We’re just kind of using it in a different application in a different environment and we practice all the time so training is what makes us proficient when we actually go on these incidents,” Dubnow said.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description

Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.