Jefferson City firefighters went to new heights Tuesday to practice rescuing a person from 10 stories up.
Approximately 30 members of the department's Special Operation and Response Team (SORT) spent several hours at the Missouri American Water, near Fire Station 3 off Missouri 179.
"Last year we had a lot of emphasis on technical rescues and this was a continuation of that," Jefferson City Fire Chief Matt Schofield said. "For us, these type of rescues are low frequency, but it is high-risk incident so we train so we can not only rescue the person, but do it safely and properly for our people."
Schofield said prior to Tuesday's training, they went inside and outside of the tower and looked at using the department's 100-foot ladder platform, which is stationed at Station 3. But officials found they were better working from the inside of the structure.
"We have a lot more control over the environment and can use anchor attachments for ropes already in place in the facility," he said. "The ladder truck can't reach the outside access to the water tower."