The Hazard Fire Department is expanding its training repertoire to include mountain rescue techniques.
Fire Chief Robert Keith tells the Hazard Herald it has become a necessity with Eastern Kentucky growing in popularity as an adventure tourism destination.
He says they are already equipped with the gear for mountainous terrain rope rescue and has several members of the department going through advanced training to get certified to do it which requires about 40 hours of training per person.
He says they will then train for confined space rescue and trench collapse rescue.