SAULT STE. MARIE — The Sault City Fire Department, the Army Corps of Engineers and Kokosing Construction held a joint operation Wednesday to prepare for the unexpected.
The new lock in Sault Ste. Marie is expected to be completed in 2030. Before that time, a lot could happen deep inside the locks, so a drill was held that required going deep into the construction area away from the Canal Park on Portage Avenue.
Sixteen first responders from the fire department participated. The focus was on the area where demolition work is being done.
The drill involved a crush injury with a mannequin, simulating a victim injured 8 feet below the surface with concrete on top. It’s a drill Kokosing does every year.
“Last year we did an exercise and we addressed some issues. We learned from it. Those modifications worked great this year. Now we added the complexity of concrete, lifting, crush injuries – so that gives us some opportunity to work on some skills,” said Fire Chief Ed Miller.
Soo Township volunteer fire personnel provided backup at the fire hall in case there were any emergencies during the drill.
