Fire Rescue News - Training exercise in EHT teaches firefighters how to handle crashes involving trucks, other large vehicles
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - Crash sites were set up all around the Farmington fire station Saturday, in a training exercise township fire officials say is necessary for the area that sees thousands of big trucks each day.
"Look at the large trucks that come through here," said Bill Danz, captain of the Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company and son of the township's fire chief. "There are......Continue Reading
three concrete companies in the township. We have the (Atlantic City) Expressway , the (Garden State) Parkway, big heavy tractor-trailers down Delilah Road."
That's why the Farmington fire company set up a two-day heavy-rescue training session this weekend. Participating Saturday were groups of volunteer firefighters from the township's five departments, along with some from Hammonton, Pleasantville and Elwood in Mullica Township.
The crashes set up Saturday included large trucks and tractor-trailers that had collided with cars in various ways, including head-on collisions in which the car went under the truck and one with a car under the middle of a truck, as if the driver had run a stop sign.
"All these scenarios can happen," Farmington Chief Jim Garth Sr. said. "Some of them we've actually seen."
"These type of crashes are becoming more prevalent, and the training's not there," said Lee Sumek, one of the instructors who came in from the Gloucester County College Fire Academy. Saturday's session was the farthest south they have brought their training.
Cardiff Chief Rob Winkler, who used to head the Technical Rescue Team, said Saturday's set up was impressive.
"It's easy to get a couple of cars," he said. "But to get a group of vehicles like this together is a feat itself. It's valuable training."
The important lesson is to stabilize first and then rescue, Garth said. Otherwise, either to the victim inside or the firefighter trying to make the rescue is open to injury.
"Safety is paramount," Garth said.
A lot of the training is what the firefighters already know, Sumek said: "It's just bringing everybody's basics out again."
It's also important the companies know how to work together, Bargaintown Fire Chief Bob Dube said. For such rescues, at least two to three companies are necessary both for manpower and equipment.
"We need to be able to work as one," he said, adding that his company works often with Cardiff. "Time is crucial. We don't have time to say, ‘You do this' or ‘You go there.'"
There is constant training for the men and women, Dube said.
"I feel that the Egg Harbor Township Fire Department is top-notch," he said. "We do take our training seriously."
"It's not all just fighting fires," Winkler said.
Their jobs include high-angle rescue, confined spaces and - as they prepared for this weekend - crashes.
And those at the weekend's training are all volunteers. For example, Dube came to Saturday's training straight from his regular midnight-to-8 a.m. shift at a casino. He got no sleep Friday either, he said, but did not seem to mind.
"The better we are, the better we can serve our residents," he said.
The training continues today with the same crash setups, but adding in the tools to extricate victims.
Contact Lynda Cohen: 609-272-7257 LCohen@pressofac.com
Egg Harbor Township fire fighters undergo training on lifting and stabilizing, which is often necessary when heavy trucks are involved in accidents, lead by instructors from Gloucester County College Fire Academy, at the Farmington Fire Company, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 in Egg Harbor Township.
Photo by: Sean M. Fitzgerald
Egg Harbor Township fire fighter, Edward Roselle, right, hands a peice of cribbing to Cheryl Raymond, center, as Mike Raymond, left, assists, while they stabilize a truck that rests on a car at the Farmington Fire Company during a training session lead by instructors for Gloucester County College Fire Academy, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 in Egg Harbor Township.
