SeaWorld Skytower Rescue Training

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The Skytower attraction is one of the highlights of SeaWorld San Diego, rising hundreds of feet in the air to give riders a beautiful view of Southern California.  Although this amusement park ride has never failed, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and SeaWorld San Diego have conducted rescue training sessions annually to prepare firefighters for the unlikely scenario in which the ride does fail and they would be required to rescue passengers from the Skytower rider capsule at heights over 100'.

In this rescue scenario, the ride is disabled at a height of 110', leaving riders suspended halfway between the top of the tower and the bottom.  The exercise is done outside of operating hours, and SeaWorld employees volunteer to be passengers on the attraction.  Firefighters practice scaling the Skytower, set up their rescue rigging, and lower the passengers one by one out of the capsule.

According to San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Steve Bowlin, the firefighters can get to the passengers in one of two ways.  If the capsule were to get stuck at heights below 100', the rescuers can use San Diego Fire-Rescue's aerial truck to get directly to the ride.  However, at heights above 100' they must climb a ladder that is built into the Skytower.  They must climb to the top of the tower, set up an anchor system, and lower themselves down to the capsule.  From there, they can enter the car through its hatches, and begin to set up the rope system that will lower the passengers safely down to the ground.

Explaining this procedure, Battalion Chief Bowlin says, "We have a lowering line and a safety line.  A line is set up so that it hooks up to the person and lowers them, and if that one fails we have a back-up line that's going to protect them also.  It's as safe as we can make it under the conditions."  Bowlin says that infants are secured to their parent and are lowered to the ground together.

Angel Garcia, a SeaWorld San Diego employee, volunteered to be a victim for this training and was very complimentary of how the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department handled the situation.  Describing his experience, he says, "They just asked us to hang on.  They were going to lower us slowly.  They kept communicating to me whenever I was going down, telling me step by step when they were going to go faster or slower.  They were really nice.  I was informed the whole time, and I felt comfortable."

In its 30 years of existence the Skytower has never experienced a ride failure requiring a rescue; however, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and the management of SeaWorld San Diego are committed to safety and make this annual training a high priority.  Lisa Davis, the Health and Safety Manager for SeaWorld San Diego, emphasizes the importance of this, saying, "We run tests each year with San Diego Fire-Rescue, the local engines, the local trucks, the entire team, as well as our entire ride team to make sure that everyone is prepared for the scenario should the unlikely occur." 

In addition to the annual Skytower training, San Diego Fire-Rescue trains on gondola rescues from the Bayside Skyride, an attraction which takes passengers on a six minute aerial ride across the waters of San Diego's Mission Bay.

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