Sometimes, people find themselves caught in precarious situations: Stuck or stranded with nowhere to go.

When that happens, someone has to come to the rescue.

Easton firefighters, suspended from ropes, rappelled down the three-story firehouse on Thursday.

Sean O'Neill, an instructor at Bucks County Community College, trains firefighters around the area to rescue people from precarious places.

"A window washer or somebody that was out repelling on their own and got in trouble, we can go and pick them off the rope and get them down to safety," said O'Neill.

This is the second level of certification for Easton. So far, the firefighters have used their training to recover a fisherman's body from an embankment along the Bushkill Creek last year and to rescue two people from under the Glendon Bridge this summer.

It looks complicated, but firefighters have to be able to perform a rescue at a moment's notice.

O'Neill had me hooked up in a safety harness and we were tethered together for safety.

"You are going down a wall, but you have to do this on what kind of terrain?" I asked.

"Any kind. You could be expected to do this hanging freely," said O'Neill.

O'Neill said rope certification can go as high as six levels.

Easton fire officials said they don't know how much more training they will get, but what they've learned is yet another life-saving tool to use when duty calls.