Cops, Firefighters Conduct Rescue Drills At Bayonne Bridge

If there’s ever an emergency involving construction workers on the Bayonne Bridge, there will be a silver lining to the calamity… Port Authority police have been trained for just such an occasion.

Last week, officers the Port Authority Police Department Emergency Services Unit (ESU) and its partner agencies conducted practice rescues at the Bayonne Bridge, helping the agency’s first responders to gain some firsthand experience in case of a real emergency.

“The scenarios offered rescuers a rare opportunity to integrate with each other's teams and perform a technical rescue,” Port Authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo said. “Additionally, it demonstrated the rescuers capabilities to the contractors working on the facility.”

• See related article: What Are These Cops Doing On The George Washington Bridge? (PHOTOS)

Port Authority responders practiced the following two scenarios:

• “On May 9, the ESU and Bayonne Fire Department Rescue performed an extrication of a trapped worker pinned under a skid container. High pressure air bags were used to free the training mannequin. Once free, the victim was packaged in a SKED stretcher and while utilizing technical high angle rope, he was hauled 60 feet to the new roadway and transported into an awaiting simulated ambulance.”
• “On May 11, ESU, NYPD ESU and FDNY Rescue 5 crews lowered rescuers and equipment from the upper roadway level to the old roadway. The scenario included saving a victim that was trapped with life-threatening injuries when a steel plate broke free from a crane and pinned a worker’s lower extremities.”

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Photo: Port Authority