Tower Crane Training - October 2, 2005

Tower Crane Training - October 2, 2005 - Station 3 personnel got a view of a life time while training with a neighboring construction site's 200 foot tower crane. Joe Byington, aka "Crazy Indian Joe", the crane engineer, was on site providing RVFD instruction and education on tower crane operations and awareness. Joe has 20+ years of experience as an operator and graduated from the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario, Canada. Joe also has a five-year construction management degree that was sponsored by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. Joe's is a descendent of the Cherokee Indian tribe. During the training personnel learned "things to look for" before climbing the tower crane for a rescue. He reviewed how to shut down power, looking for loose bolts, inspecting for cracks in the crane's frame, and understanding mechanical gears on the crane's platform. The training session lasted for 2 hours and was hailed as a "life time experience" by the many that attended.