Fire crews rescue teen joy riders from Arkansas River

By DEON J. HAMPTON World Staff Writer
Published: 2/21/2010  2:35 AM
Last Modified: 2/21/2010  5:37 AM

JENKS — Crews from the Jenks Fire Department rescued two men who intentionally drove their vehicle into the Arkansas River on Saturday night, firefighters said.

Jenks Fire Chief Gary Friedel said the victims, both of whom are 19, were joy riding in the middle of the river, east of 131st Street and Yale Avenue, when the vehicle became stuck in the water.

Jenks Fire Department Water Rescue Team responded to the scene at 7:30 p.m. after the two men called firefighters for help.

Friedel said the driver and passenger were treated and released at the scene.

He said this is the second time in the past few weeks that joy riders have driven a vehicle into the Arkansas River.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100221_11_A15_JENKSm608702&archive=yes

When the recent record low temperature arrived, Jenks Fire Rescue found the perfect opportunity to train in Ice Rescue. It provided realistic conditions that would be present in a possible ice rescue. Firefighters trained for several hours in the elements by practicing putting on safety equipment, deploying rescue equipment, and rescue techniques.

Almost half of the Jenks Local 2567 participated in the 2009 Tulsa Run.

This was Jenks Fire Rescue’s first entrance as a Team in the Tulsa Run and it was the first time to participate in the 9 mile race for several of the guys. Firefighters plan on making it a tradition to participate as a team in the annual event.

Local 2567 participants included, John Tilghman, Paul Jenkins, Michael O’Brien, Adam Brown, Sean Garner(Ran in Bunker Pants), Brody Bowman, Kasey Battenfield,  and Dave Owen

On August 31st, Jenks Fire Rescue put it's new bunker gear into service.  After a lot of research by the PPE committee, Black Morning Pride gear was selected.  Everyone is excited about the new look and feel of the gear.     

Jenks Firefighters recently completed Swift Water Training.  Firefighters particapted in 3 days of training that covered Rope Skills & Techniques, Water Dynamics & River Hazards, Medical considerations, and Water Rescue Skills.  Several hours were spent in a classroom setting at Station 2 but most of the class was actual on scene training in the Arkansas River and at Veterans Park. The training was provided by Rescue 3 International and the instructors flew in from Colorado to teach the 3 day class.  Jenks Fire Rescue was awarded a grant several months ago that payed for the training and equipment.  Much more Water Rescue Training is expected in the near future.  More photos are in the photo gallery. 

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