VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Fire Department and Virginia Task Force 2 are holding a course for first responders from across the nation on how to respond to a structural collapse.
The training is at the Harry E. Diezel Fire Training Center on South Birdneck Road and involves more than 150 first responders. It started on Oct. 14 and will go until the 21st.
They are training on "techniques in structural collapse operations, including heavy lifting, moving, airbag operations, internal and external shoring operations, cutting and burning, concrete breaching and breaking, and practical crane operations."
The fire department says the skills being taught in the course are ones that Virginia Task Force 2 used in Surfside, Florida to assist with efforts at the Champlain Towers building collapse in 2021.