| Firefighters Challenge | Toronto Star Wheels - 09/13/03 | |
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An injured driver lies trapped within a small sedan, which teeters precariously on its side. The badly damaged vehicle is wedged between the rear bumper of a minivan and a motorboat that was ripped from its trailer and hurled across the road by the impact of the crash. Suddenly the sound of sirens fills the air and a team of firefighters arrives at the accident scene. Amidst shouted reassurances to the trapped driver, the firefighters quickly |
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assess the situation. Finding no gas leaks from either the vehicles or the huge motor that still hangs from the boat, they determine it’s safe to proceed. Quickly pushing the damaged van clear of the scene, the firefighters set about stabilizing both the car and the boat before attempting to reach the injured driver.
At a small park in Pelham, Ontario, some 20 kms west of Niagara Falls, fifteen teams of firefighters from across Ontario and New York State gathered last week to participate in the Southwestern Ontario Regional Automobile Extrication Challenge, a learning symposium that tested the firefighters’ automobile crash rescue skills. Practice makes perfect, and if practicing meant smashing up a whole lot of cars in order to reach perfection then that’s exactly what that groups of firefighters was prepared to do. The sound of breaking glass and crunching metal filled the air as the host team, Pelham Fire Department, used donated fork trucks and a huge wheel loader to smash, dent, damage and position automobiles in a way that made the rescue scenarios both realistic and challenging. The set-up for many exercises was based on actual traffic accidents and involved multiple vehicles including cars, trucks, vans, a motorcycle, and even farm equipment. The addition of props such as gas pumps or a hydro pole with snapped power lines added another twist to the rescues. During the Challenge, teams of five or six firefighters competed in two exercises; one being an unlimited pit where all types of equipment, including hydraulics, were used. The second was a limited pit where only hand tools were permitted and a live victim, actually one of three judges present, had to be treated and removed from the wreckage as quickly and safely as possible. “Participating in these types of challenges makes you realize the different roles and divisions within a firefighting team. It’s realistic because you’re work under pressure, being watched by three or four judges, the crowd, and other fire fighters.” said Ben Reeves, one of a team of students from Sir Sanford Fleming College’s Pre-Service Fire Fighters course who also competed. Amidst the crowded and noisy, yet carefully choreographed scene, several firefighters work at cutting through the tough twisted metal. Aided by powerful tools, their intent is to quickly remove the car’s roof. At the same time another member of their team crawls through the car’s broken rear window and reaches the conscious driver only to discover that his body is suspended in the air, held back only by his seatbelt Keeping in mind the “golden hour”, -the best outcome with traumatic injuries is usually obtained if the victim gets to hospital within the first hour; each exercise was timed and limited to twenty minutes. Teams were also sequestered while the exercises were set up and thus had no prior knowledge of what they’d be facing. With motor vehicles accidents being the second most frequent call fire departments respond to, (medical assistance calls being first), firefighters must be well versed in both auto extrication and patient care. Pointing out that victims receive a high level of medical care from firefighters at the accident scene, Paul Parker a T.E.R.C. Regional Judge, explained, “We mitigate 90 per cent of injuries before we move them because they’re ‘packaged’ before they’re moved. In the 70’s we didn’t worry about that, now we’re more educated. We have more medical training than ever before.” With the roof of the vehicle cut away and the scattered glass swept aside, access to the victim enables a cervical collar to be applied and a backboard to be shifted into place. But then comes the realization that the victim’s feet are trapped beneath the pedals. Each team was scored on technique, safety, efficiency, co-ordination, and patient care, and the winner, Niagara Falls Fire Department’s team, goes on to the first national competition next June in Wasaga Beach. But as Captain Otto Heinrich, Captain of the Pelham Fire Department and Chairman of last week’s event explained, “The emphasis is not on the competition, but rather it’s a learning symposium. What these teams learn here from the training exercises they take back to their departments.” Many teams videotape the extrications exercises for use later as a training tool. Competitions are held under the auspices of the Transportation Emergency Rescue Committee (T.E.R.C.) USA/Canada, an organization originated in 1984 and sanctioned by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, to promote vehicle rescue education. The technology and safety features built into today’s cars often prove to be a two-edged sword for fire fighters. “The highly reinforced construction of today’s cars protects passengers but make it more difficult and hazardous to remove them.” said Chief Heinrich. Innovations such as reinforced dashboards, crumple zones and side impact bars together with new materials such as micro-alloys, boron steel, and non-shattering polycarbonate glass, have resulted in rescue tools and techniques changing dramatically in recent years. “It used to be 80 per cent spread and 20 per cent cut, now it’s 80 per cent cut and 20 per cent spread.” explained Peter Methner, Education Chairman for T.E.R.C. Canada, referring to the increased need to cut into cars rather than pry apart structural barriers. His education committee works to increase the cooperation and exchange of information between fire departments, the automobile industry and tool manufacturers, something that in the past hasn’t always existed. Using pedal cutters, his driver’s feet are quickly freed and the backboard carefully positioned beneath his body. Only when he is securely supported by the backboard and there is no longer any danger of him falling, is the seatbelt finally cut away. Strong hands make swift work of lifting the injured driver clear of the wreckage and carrying him to safety. Complicating rescues further is the fact that equipment in cars varies tremendously depending on both the make and model. Once quite simple, now features such as a car’s fuel (gasoline, propane, natural gas, diesel, bio-fuel or hybrid), and the location of the battery can no longer be assumed. Materials used in car bodies, including plastics and carbon fibers which cause toxic fumes, can also be problematic. Though not all cars come equipped with dual front air bags, seat belt pretensioners, side air curtains or overhead head protection systems, their presence does affect a rescue. Both passengers and rescuers are at risk from airbags that can suddenly deploy if a vehicle’s power is not terminated. Yet there are currently no industry-wide standard symbols imprinted on car indicating the presence of this equipment, something the firefighters think would be helpful. All fire services respond to a wide variety of situations, though a department’s location may affect the rescues they routinely see, with multi-car highway collisions being common for urban departments and accidents involving difficult terrain, recreational or farm vehicles more common for rural departments. But being prepared for everything is essential and the T.E.R.C. events, which involve fire departments worldwide, offer practical experience, instruction in new techniques, and even provide a safe place to make a mistake. “Two things you learn at these competitions: what to do on the road and what not to do on the road:” said Paul Simpson, an International Judge and a captain with Mississauga Fire and Emergency Service. With the patient safe and the scene cleared, another rescue has been successfully completed. Though now the firefighters must face a panel of judges, for in truth this has actually been a training exercise, a practice session in which “Rescue Randy”, a 175-pound lifelike mannequin, stood in for a live victim. Having carried out the rescue as though it was a real-life situation, the firefighters now join the panel of judges to discuss the extrication, always looking for a way to learn new techniques and sharpen their existing rescue skills. Last week’s T.E.R.C. Canada event was organized and run by a host of volunteers and competing teams were also there on a voluntary basis, with most having to fundraise to cover travel and accommodation costs. Most of the sixty vehicles used in the extrication exercises were donated by the public in response to an appeal posted on a sign outside the Pelham fire hall. Many of them ended up battered and broken, some even demolished, but considering the cause, it was a rather noble demise. |