聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 In southeast Saskatchewan it's a call they dread, a collision. A heavy truck has collided with a vehicle and it doesn't look good. People are trapped, injured, and possibly dying or already dead. With people in trouble a fire department must jump into action. People are relying on them and a firefighter must make critical, quick decisions when in the moment. Whether the call involves a semi tractor, a hazardous materials trailer, a cement truck, or a school bus, training is an extremely important aspect for a firefighter to be able to respond to any situation and keep a level head while doing so.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In relation to the importance of training, Carlyle Fire and Rescue facilitated a training weekend for Heavy Extrication Course on Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25. Coming out of Calgary to facilitate training was Randy Schmitz. He led a total of 15 students through various scenarios set up by the local Fire and Rescue.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Schmitz is a firefighter and extrication instructor with the Calgary Fire Department in Alberta.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Students attended the two-day educational session from Carnduff, Redvers, Alameda, Whitewood, Stoughton, and Carlyle.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 think the guys are learning a lot and it's always good practice for them,鈥� Carlyle Fire and Rescue Chief, Trent Lee, explained.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The first day involved a scenario where a cement truck was rolled on top of a car, while Sunday involved two scenarios. The first scenario on Sunday involved a collision between a school bus and a car in the morning, and then in the afternoon a rolled hazardous material semi-trailer had been set up on top of three vehicles.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 On hand both days was Greg Johnston with Flying G Trucking who had brought a picker truck out to ensure safety while working and he also aided the fire department in their efforts in one scenario as they may need in a real world situation.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淔lying G Trucking has always been very good to us,鈥� Lee stated.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In each scenario Schmitz took the participants through the set up situation. From there he encouraged the 15 people taking part in the course to analyze the situation and discern various ways to untangle the wreckages. They would then decide on what they thought would be the best possible route to take in handling the situation and proceed with input given or questions asked by Schmitz while the participants were working.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The course saw participants use a variety of skills from lifting and blocking vehicles to using the Jaws of Life.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The variety of scenarios were worked through with success both days and each of the attending participants learned a lot while being able to go through each situation without the sense of urgency which comes with working on emergency calls. Being able to go at their own pace and discuss the different happenings while working was beneficial. Practice makes permanent the actions and decisions needed to be made while handling emergency situations, which makes education and working on these scenarios extremely important.
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