KATHY ADAMS
The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH - The challenge: rescue two victims, one stuck on a platform and the other dangling from a scaffold 50 feet in the air. The tools: ropes, pulleys, carabine rs, harnesses and other gadgets. The rescuers: 20 firefighters from the Tidewater Technical Rescue Team.

On Thursday afternoon, with the sun bearing down on the roof of the Virginia Beach Amphitheater, the team tackled that challenge, wrapping up four days of extensive training. After a series of complex rope maneuvers, they were successful, bringing both victims - two lifelike dummies - to the ground.

The event tested the team's rope rescue skills as part of the Technical Rescue Challenge, an annual event hosted by the Virginia Beach Fire Department. The training could be applied to a variety of emergencies, such as a spotlight operator breaking a leg during a show at the amphitheater, or a window washer getting stuck on a scaffold , said Harold Hill, captain of the Virginia Beach Technical Rescue Team.

"It just enhances their ability to put all of this together," he said. "If tomorrow the bell rings for someone hanging off the side of The Westin ... they're ready to go work."

The Technical Rescue Challenge brought together 154 people in eight teams from Virginia and Maryland to practice lifting and moving heavy objects, extracting passengers from crushed vehicles, pulling victims from confined spaces and performing rope rescues. The tasks were meant to prepare the firefighters for medical emergencies and disasters, such as the earthquake that trapped people beneath rubble in Haiti in January.

The Tidewater team, which includes firefighters from throughout the region, started the day practicing rope rescues at a rock gym. They then moved on to the amphitheater, where another tough physical challenge awaited them.

After rigging a set of ropes and pulleys, the firefighters slowly ascended to a spotlight bridge 50 feet in the air, relying on their leg and upper-body strength. They then hooked up a second set of ropes and hoisted several more of their teammates to the platform.

Then it was time for Sean Betts, a Virginia Beach firefighter, to rappel down to the dangling dummy, strap it into a harness and pull it onto the scaffold.

Meanwhile, Billy Scott, the team's newest member, and another group worked to hoist the second dummy from its platform through a hatch in the roof. They then carried it across the rooftop, lowered it through another hatch over the bridge and joined up with the rest of the team. They then made the final descent.

Time: two hours 21 minutes, the third-fastest time. The Fairfax team completed the challenge first and the Montgomery County, Md., team finished second, said Virginia Beach fire Capt. Keene Black .

"It's not a race, but they try to beat each other's times," he said.

The hardest part was climbing up to the bridge, several team members said.

Despite being sweaty and tired like the rest of her team, Lorna Trent, a Virginia Beach firefighter and paramedic, said she felt great after the final challenge.

"It was a lot of fun," she said. "The challenges all definitely made you think a lot. I definitely feel more experienced and more ready."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com

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May 7, 2010