Large animal rescue training in Maine | 12.05.2006 | 06:26:21 | Views: 4794 | ID: December 5 '06: Emergency responders in Maine are working with animal care specialists to train for a new program called Large Animal Emergency Rescue, the Morning Sentinel reported Monday. The program's focus will train local fire departments to respond to animal emergency situations involving horses, cattle and other large farm animals. In one example given, fire department trainees stepped into cold, deep mud which effectively cemented them into the ground, preventing any escape. Rescuers using air pumps placed under the volunteers' feet injected a puff of compressed air to help eliminate the suction. "Often, no one in the area knows how to safely rescue an animal in such a predicament, and the animal suffers or dies as a result," the Morning Sentinel reported. According to Maine state fire instructor Vicki Schmidt, "People think you drag the horse by the neck or the hoof. ... You don't drag humans out by the neck. It doesn't work for horses either." Officials told the Morning Sentinel that the training course also helps to keep the rescuers safe. "Knowing how to rescue a horse from an emergency situation ... is a valuable tool for keeping firefighters safe," according to Dover-Foxcroft Fire Chief Joe Guyotte.
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