(News4Jax) – Two members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department on Tuesday detailed how they assisted in a stunning high-rise rescue.
JFRD engineers Patrick Schneider and Justin Smith both played important roles in rescuing two men dangling on the side of the BB&T Bank Building in downtown Jacksonville early Monday evening.
Schneider told News4Jax that it was the first time he ever responded to a call like the one that came in about 5 p.m. Monday.
“I just grabbed as much gear as I could — rope, rigging, bags — (and) headed to the roof,” Schneider said. “They looked like two ants hanging there. All you saw was their boots dangling. It’s something I’ve never seen before. A million emotions are running over you. And that’s what we do — we fall back on our training to suppress that and just do your job.”
Schneider’s job was to secure the scaffolding, which was hanging precariously from one end, to the building so it wouldn’t fall to the ground.
“I don’t like heights,” he said. “I did what I needed to do but I was like dragging knuckles going down the side of the building.”
Every call, Schneider said, requires an incredible amount of trust that he and his teammates all have each other’s safety in mind.
“They were manually holding those lines,” he said. “Those guys were hanging over a building, held by those buddies they work with.”
