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Water rescue an exercise in team work - PICTURES
THESE were the dramatic scenes when firefighters from South Yorkshire carried out a water rescue at Rother Valley Country Park after 12 youngsters went missing.
The teenagers were plucked from the cold lake by fire crews, and winched to safety by an RAF Sea King helicopter.
But it wasn't a real emergency – the crews were taking part in a training exercise to learn how to use new equipment comprising of a command support unit and new water rescue technology.
The scenario was staged on the anniversary of the 2007 summer floods and firefighters used an underwater camera and inflatables to locate the stricken teens and help them to safety.
The new water rescue equipment can be attached to most fire engines and contains an inflatable boat, inflatable walkways for ice and mud rescues, specialist protective equipment, an underwater camera, a rescue sledge and specialist equipment designed to help release people stranded in mud or sand.
The command support unit will be sent to major incidents requiring five fire engines or more, and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology which allows the incident commander to set up a private communications network as well as dealing with normal ground communications.
It allows the commander to send video images and voice commands to firefighters, control rooms and other agencies.
The system will work even if traditional methods of communication fail, thanks to a satellite system.
The unit also has a camera which can provide the commander with live images of the incident from up to a kilometre away, including a bird's eye view, and live police helicopter images can be received.
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 10 February 2012
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Fog
Temperature: -6 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Sunny spells
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