Nebraska Task Force One takes part in structural collapse simulation

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska Task Force One took part in a simulated structural collapse in Lincoln on Friday.

Officials said the simulation was the final training needed for 15 new task force members to get their search and rescue certification.

The situation they were training for was a parking garage collapse.

One team had to build braces to put up against the side of a cargo pod to practice shoring up a collapsing wall.

While they were doing that, another team practiced sending search dogs onto a pile of rubble to find trapped people.

Training manager Ashley Engler said the recent apartment building collapse in Davenport, Iowa, is “very sad to see.”

But she said it shows that it can happen anywhere.

“So that’s what they’re training so hard to do, is to make sure that if it did happen here, or anywhere else, and we’re called upon, they’re ready to go to be able to conduct those search and rescue missions,” Engler said.

Fire departments from Lincoln, Omaha, Papillion, Grand Island and Council Bluffs, Iowa, also attended the exercise.

Task Force One is an urban search and rescue team of over 150 people. The task force has been deployed in the state and across the country for a number of disasters.