DENISON TX--For many, hanging upside down 50 feet on the air would be pretty high on the list of things not to do, but for the group of firefighters gathered at Waterloo Park in Denison, it is a necessary job skill.

"You have to have a minimal fear of heights you have to have an appreciation for it, but you cannot be afraid of it," said Wesley Meyer.

He has been training the group for the past few days teaching the Firefighters the science of vertical rescue. Assistant chief Bill Ray says this is just another tool that firefighters will have on hand when lives are on the line.

"Since 9-11 things have changed and the community looks to the fire department for all types of rescue," said Ray.

It takes a lot of training to become proficient in rescue techniques.

"Total it is going to be 58 hours when we finish tomorrow around noon," said Meyer.

Those 58 hours of training have been crammed into just 5 days.

"They have been spending 12 hours a day out here and they have been sticking with it, so there is a lot of dedication out here," said Ray.

That will to learn says Meyer, will make the difference when and if the skills these firefighters learned this week are needed.

"One of our biggest goals is to pass on knowledge, but it is even more so to have students ask, and today they were asking tons of questions, it was really exciting," said Meyer.