BATON ROUGE - Firefighters and industrial workers from around the nation, even some from Canada, are here in Baton Rouge training to get certified in rope and confined space rescues.

Brad Warr, the chief instructor from ROCO, said these skills are essential. 

"It's a really stressful two weeks for the students. This is not a class that you just come and attend and you get a gold star for being here," Wart said. "This is going to allow them to perform rope rescues, the typical stuff you might see on TV with someone stuck on a scaffold, or someone in a refinery that's up on a platform that needs to get down, or even a backcountry rescue taking somebody off the side of a cliff or off a bridge."

In Louisiana, which is covered with swamps and wilderness areas, home to industrial plants and prone to weather disasters, these skills are critical.

"In the class, we spend a tremendous amount of time moving people in stroke baskets, stretchers, and out of really tight spots so moving patients is the highest priority for this class," Warr said. "These are highly specific and highly technical skills that only a certain amount of people have, so by being able to come here you get to go back to your department and offer a level of service that your community might not have had before."

Firefighters from Baton Rouge and St. George are in the training. They'll be tested on their skills on Dec. 20th.