DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Firefighters in DeKalb County spent part of Wednesday afternoon undergoing training on the roof of an abandoned parking lot.
Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes was there as they underwent ropes training. It isn’t required, but most volunteer so they can be as prepared as possible to protect their community.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does happen, we have to be very accurate,” Captain Jaeson Daniels said.
They used the roof of a parking lot because the structure allows them to create several different scenarios, like rescuing someone stuck high above ground or down low.
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“Just over a year ago, a woman on the south side of DeKalb that was in her vehicle, and drove her vehicle in a body of water,” Daniels said. “And we had to use the very skills these folks are practicing on today to actually rescue her.”
Ambershe Bolton has been with the department for three years and is usually afraid of heights.
“I am very terrified of heights, but I overcome them eventually when I do certain exercises,” she said.
Bolton told Fernandes that she never wants to respond to a call and not have the skills to save someone.
“I wanna have some type of knowledge on what I’m doing or what people around me are doing,” she said. “We’re making sure that we’re prepared.”
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