Sierra Rescue/Rescue 3 West had the extreme honor of training some of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) guys.

We had tons of fun in Coloma and Lotus on the South Fork American, Middle Fork of the American and North Fork of the American Rivers. They had traveled so far, so we did the full tour of the Americans. We also had fluctuating water levels during the time they came out and we wanted to maximize their experience.

We had two amazing groups of 24, one in Febuary and one in March. They all participated in a 5-day Swiftwater Rescue Technician Unit 1 and Swiftwater Rescue Technician Advanced combo course (SRT1/SRTA). We had mostly sunny skies and tried to give them a good show of what a California early spring can offer.

We brought in the big guns on this one and had an all-star instructor line up with Tren Long, Mike Mather, Don Lester and John Rogers. I was able to join in with the second group in March and taught with Mike Mather and Don Lester and can’t even begin to express how much fun I had with these men. They were so far out of their normal element but had such great attitudes about trying new things and just going for it.

The week was filled with big smiles and plenty of laughs. Thanks again to all of them for their energy and enthusiasm. A special thanks to John Abplanalp and the logistics coordinators for making everything flow smoothly.  We hope to see you all again someday, you’re always welcome back!!! We had so many photos from the course, it is hard to just pick out a few for our blog.

To see more pictures, check out our Facebook album on the Sierra Rescue fan page.

Thanks again and huge hugs,

Abi