LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Las Vegas Metro Police’ Search and Rescue plays a pivotal role in helping those stranded in hard-to-reach areas.
This month, one of their own came back to the department to take their training to a whole new level.
Retired Air Sgt. David Callen returned to Metro’s Search and Rescue earlier this month.
“It is a part of Metro that most of the community doesn’t see,” Callen said.
He spent his career in rescue, and even after hanging up his badge, his mission to serve still stayed the same.
“We can’t go out there and be part of the problem. In some cases it’s, ‘who rescues the rescuer’? That’s something we teach commonly too,” Callen said.
In 2013, his colleague and friend Dave Vanbuskirk died while rescuing a hiker on Mt. Charleston.
“His carabiner that he was attached to from the hook to harness. It rolled over into a position where it opened the gate and unhooked him,” Callen described.
However, Callen turned that loss into a lesson through his company called SR3. He now trains rescue teams all over the nation, including the one he once served.
“We need to be aware of better techniques and new equipment that makes our job safer and better efficient,” Air Sgt. David Brooks said.
Brooks said his team spends countless hours on training. But two years ago, they called SR3 in to do an audit of their operations and give them feedback.
“You are going to face some critique. It’s going to show what your weaknesses are and that’s what you are paying for is to get better,” Brooks said.
Summer is a busy rescue season as more people head outdoors, this training is crucial.
FOX5 followed the team as they took off from the hanger and flew over Red Rock Canyon to simulate rescue operations.
For the training, they used dummies of different sizes, but in reality there are real lives on the line.
Both Callen and Brooks emphasized the importance making sure both the rescuer and the one being rescued are safe.
“We need to protect the people who are in the aircraft protect the aircraft and protect the people in the ground. One doesn’t come above the other. It’s a total mission and continuously train and identify those pitfalls during training so when the real operation comes its done as safe as possible,” Brooks said.
Metro Search and Rescue completed a three day training course with Callen from Red Rock to water operations at Lake Mead.
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