Courageous Kids Climbing has been partnering with public safety officers and, more specifically, firefighters for more than three years as part of their climbing events. The organization provides free opportunities for children with special needs, physical and developmental, to experience the various forms of rock climbing at events held in Washington, Idaho, and California.
The Benefits of Climbing
Their first event was held in July 2014, in Boise, Idaho. Members of the Boise Fire Department technical rescue team, along with members of the Ada County Paramedics special operations team, were invited to attend the event. The firefighters and paramedics were tasked to wear their rescue harnesses and to walk around the Urban Ascent indoor climbing gym, encouraging the participants by saying, “Look, I wear a harness just like you are wearing when I rescue people!” The rescuers were also asked to give words of encouragement to the kids. However, they were not encouraged to take the kids out to their vehicles for tours as it was thought that this would be too much of a distraction from the climbing.
A great deal of emphasis is placed on the climbing at these events as it has been shown to benefit children with developmental challenges in numerous ways. These benefits include learning how to focus on one thing and practice with their hand-eye, hand-foot, and right-side/left-side coordination, along with enhancing their problem-solving skills.
The organization has several special harnesses that it uses at its events to support the children with physical challenges. Among these harnesses are two EZ-Don rescue harnesses that were donated by RIT Safety Solutions, along with several other adaptive harnesses provided by various other organizations. As part of the contribution by RIT Safety Solutions, Courageous Kids Climbing has agreed to provide feedback on the harnesses as they are used at the climbing events. This feedback has been used to enhance the EZ-Don harness, providing a better tool for rescuers. Children with physical challenges are placed in these harnesses and hoisted along the climbing walls so that they can “leave the horizontal word and experience the vertical world firsthand.”
Originally, it was planned to use members of the climbing gym staff to hoist the children, but this was soon changed to having the technical rescue technicians do the hoisting. By allowing the rescue technicians to hoist the children, it quickly became apparent that this was an opportunity for the rescue crews to practice some of their rope rescue skills, specifically setting up anchors and building a haul system. An example of this is when the Spokane Fire Department’s technical rescue team set up a system and hoisted two 24-year-old men with severe physical challenges along the climbing wall at Wild Walls. Later, several of the firefighters were seen climbing the walls alongside the children, giving them a hand in making it to the top of the climbing walls. After one event, when asked if the rescuers received any benefit from the event, the rescue team captain stated that they were going back to their fire station and reviewing some of their operating procedures and would possibly be rewriting some of these procedures as they pertain to children.
In the Vehicle
At one of the early events, a child was invited to sit in a fire engine. Later, the parent would tell us that it was the first time that his child had ever seen a fire engine up close, much less sat in one! This is now a standard part of the events. However, in an effort to help the children open up more, even though the firefighters know what the children want, the child is still encouraged to ask for a tour as a means of helping them with their verbal communication. During these tours, emergency responders are requested not to blow the air horn or siren as some of the children do not like loud noises. Portable radios are also turned down or ear buds are used to monitor the radio so as not to upset some of the children.
At one event, a 13-year-old girl who is blind was taken out to Boise’s technical rescue truck for a private tour. In addition to sitting in the driver’s seat and listening to the radio communications, she was also allowed to “look” with her hands at several of the rescue tools while firefighters explained the tools. This was a first for this child, and it helped her create an image in her mind of what some of the rescue tools look like and how they are used.
But it’s not just tools that the blind children look at. At another event, the same blind girl could “look” at a firefighter’s uniform and rescue harness with her hands. As she touched an item, the firefighter would then explain what the item was and how it was used.
All the benefits at these events are not exclusively for the child. Rescuers can see firsthand what some of the challenges are that these children face. As an example, some children do not like to be touched. Touching them will result in them having a meltdown. At these events, the public safety officers learn how to accommodate these children, preparing the responders to work with children with the same needs in the future should they be involved in an emergency.
Because the events are small, usually only 10 to 20 children with special needs and their families participating in the events, tours of emergency vehicles are now mandatory. As an example, these children are invited to look at an ambulance. The EMTs and paramedics will load them on the gurney and load them into the ambulance. Once in the ambulance, they will let the children hold the various pieces of equipment found in an ambulance. This is intended to lessen the fear of the child should they ever have to be transported in an ambulance.
At other events, like at Ellensburg, Washington, Kittitas Valley firefighters let the children squirt water out of a hose off a brush truck. Cascade, Idaho firefighters let the children hold a 2½-inch hose and nozzle and sit in the driver’s seat of the engine.
Comfort in Uniform
At the first few events, not much effort was made to include law enforcement. Since then, we have found that this is a very important part of the events. The goal is to have each child see what a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or paramedic looks like, specifically their uniform and badge. The children are then told that if they are ever lost or in trouble, to look for someone with a badge–that people with badges are there to help them. The emergency responders are then encouraged to talk to the kids, which in some cases can be difficult as some of the children are nonverbal. Another learning experience for the emergency responder!
As the number of events grow, involvement of public safety continues to increase. Local search and rescue (SAR) teams are now supporting the events as well. As one SAR team member stated, it helps us to appreciate that a lost child will not stay in one place and that when we do find him, if he has special needs, he may require special accommodation beyond what we are normally use or even train for.
Working Across Teams
Often at these events, technical rescue teams from various agencies are invited to participate. As an example, at recent events in Bakersfield, California, the Kern County Fire Department sent both of their urban search and rescue teams, a rare opportunity for the two teams to train together. In addition, KS Industries, a company that supports work in the local oil fields, sent members of their confined space rescue team along with one of their rescue trucks to the events. This event now provides an annual opportunity for these rescue teams to get together and train together.
At these events, the public safety officers are encouraged to make each child feel like he is the most important person in the world, at least for the two hours that the event is held. It’s not uncommon to see some of these children reach out and hug their new best friend! After all, what could be cooler than having a public safety officer give you 100 percent attention as you try to climb the climbing wall and then take you for a personal tour of their emergency response vehicle? But this can often be a little tough for the emergency responders as most are not accustomed to being hugged. Just another lesson!
Courageous Kids Climbing also works with low-angle/high-angle rescue equipment suppliers to get equipment donated to rescue services. Recently, an EZ-Don harness was provided to Truck 7 of the Boise Fire Department. The organization hopes to not only continue this program but to have it grow as a means of thanking the public safety officers for their support.
Courageous Kids Climbing has a very close working relationship with public safety officers in Washington, Idaho, and California. By bringing these agencies and the children with special needs together, everyone involved goes home at the end of the day a better person, having learned something from each other.
For more information on Courageous Kids Climbing, contact Jeff Riechmann at jeffriechmann@cs.com.
See addtional photos in the Courageous Kids Climbing photo gallery.
