9 months ago
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Wind power is viewed as the wave of the future in Maine.
As more of the towers pop up here, the demand for wind turbine technicians is expected to increase dramatically. People who are interested in that work are now getting the training they need to stay safe and to assist co-workers who find themselves in trouble.
Servicing and maintaining wind turbines can be dangerous work. You must scale giant towers, in remote locations with strong winds howling.
Inside a former warehouse in South Portland 36 trainees are getting a feel for what that's like. They're also learning rescue techniques they can perform until first responders arrive on the scene.
"If someone gets injured, if someone has a medical event and they're 285-feet in the air, they have to have the ability to get them down,. It's not your normal work environment", said training instructor Doug Patey.
Patey is the Assistant Fire Chief in Falmouth. During his time off he and a partner run a training business called Rescue Geeks. He says wind turbine safety is the next generation of speciality training for the business.
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