The Surfside condo collapse is bringing back memories of a recent collapse here in Greater Cincinnati. The Killen Generating Station along U.S. 52 in Adams County was set for demolition, but it collapsed during the process trapping five men inside. Only three survived. The men and women who go into situations like this are a special group of people who often are working through harsh conditions to try and save lives. Cincinnati Fire Department Operations Chief Tom Lakamp is also the Commissioner for our areas Urban Search and Rescue Team. He says one of the biggest issues they have is holding his team back, even after long shifts, as they try to grind out every moment to bring a victim home.“Nothing moves fast,” Lakamp said.Lakamp knows scenes like in Miami all too well. “There's always a hope until you've exhausted any and all areas where you think there might be a void for survival,” he said.His team is made up of about 125 firefighters from multiple departments across the region. They get the call to save lives in devastating situations.“The key is having really good experts with you. They probably have a plan A, a plan B, a plan C, a plan D they are starting to implement simultaneously,” Lakamp said.In December 2020, his team responded to a deadly collapse of that old Killen plant. Their quick response and planning paid off. “At the Killen collapse, we were able to rescue one of the workers within the first three hours to make that rescue. That does a lot for morale,” Lakamp said.Lakamp says the tragic incidents of Miami and Adams County are different because of the construction methods. Each has a very different possibility of open areas for survival. But the bottom line remains the same, the men and women on these teams are putting their tools and training into action to reunite families. “What you see on television and what you've been able to follow, they are coming in from the bottom and they're also coming in from the top. They are doing whatever they can to give anybody the opportunity to survive,” Lakamp said.You can hear our full conversation on the beyond the studio podcast which is out right now. Click here.
The Surfside condo collapse is bringing back memories of a recent collapse here in Greater Cincinnati.
The Killen Generating Station along U.S. 52 in Adams County was set for demolition, but it collapsed during the process trapping five men inside. Only three survived.
The men and women who go into situations like this are a special group of people who often are working through harsh conditions to try and save lives.
Cincinnati Fire Department Operations Chief Tom Lakamp is also the Commissioner for our areas Urban Search and Rescue Team. He says one of the biggest issues they have is holding his team back, even after long shifts, as they try to grind out every moment to bring a victim home.
“Nothing moves fast,” Lakamp said.
Lakamp knows scenes like in Miami all too well.
“There's always a hope until you've exhausted any and all areas where you think there might be a void for survival,” he said.
His team is made up of about 125 firefighters from multiple departments across the region. They get the call to save lives in devastating situations.
“The key is having really good experts with you. They probably have a plan A, a plan B, a plan C, a plan D they are starting to implement simultaneously,” Lakamp said.
In December 2020, his team responded to a deadly collapse of that old Killen plant. Their quick response and planning paid off.
“At the Killen collapse, we were able to rescue one of the workers within the first three hours to make that rescue. That does a lot for morale,” Lakamp said.
Lakamp says the tragic incidents of Miami and Adams County are different because of the construction methods. Each has a very different possibility of open areas for survival. But the bottom line remains the same, the men and women on these teams are putting their tools and training into action to reunite families.
“What you see on television and what you've been able to follow, they are coming in from the bottom and they're also coming in from the top. They are doing whatever they can to give anybody the opportunity to survive,” Lakamp said.
You can hear our full conversation on the beyond the studio podcast which is out right now. Click here.
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