By Tom Bailey Jr.
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Copyright 2007 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. — They cut, stake, stack, pump, pound, wench, spread, crawl, pull, carry and monitor.
Those are just a few of the actions Collierville firefighters are taking this week while training to free traffic-accident victims from the twisted metal of wrecked vehicles.
The Fire Department is using some empty land behind Public Services and a dozen junk vehicles to practice freeing dummies from simulated crash scenes.
Tuesday afternoon’s “crash” was a doozy.
A 2,500-pound Hyundai Elantra was turned upside-down, its roof caved in.
Sticking out from underneath the driver’s door was the leg of the dummy.
Ten firefighters went to work under the watchful eye of state-certified training instructor Tony Redwine.
They stabilized the car by pounding stakes into the ground and strapping down the sides of the car.
They ensured the car’s power was shut down. Air bags and batteries - especially the powerful ones on hybrids - can injure emergency workers.
They raised the car’s rear, inserting a tough, inflatable bag underneath and pumping air into it.
They didn’t risk injuring driver/paramedic Tommy Patrick, who crawled under the car. In case the bag popped, they placed wood-block cribbing under both sides.
They used the Jaws of Life to spread open the jangled doors, and powerful cutters to remove metal.
They hedged their bets: The firefighters cut away both sides of the car simultaneously in case one side proved faster than the other.
That redundancy could save time if they tried just one side, failed, and had to start over on the other side, Redwine said.
The critically injured stand a substantially better chance of survival if they can receive medical attention during the first “golden hour” after the injuries, Redwine said.
Patrick said he never worried that the car would fall while he was underneath it.
“You gotta have faith they are going to take care of you,” he said of his fellow firefighters.
The Fire Department trains for extrication every two years.
The town’s firefighters should be able to deal with just about any tangled vehicle that traps somebody.
They have inflatable airbags that can lift tractor-trailers, Fire Chief Jerry Crawford said.
“We have the same vehicle-extrication equipment as any department in the country,” he said.
After the firefighters put the dummy on a stretcher, Redwine marked the elapsed time by calling out, “Thirteen minutes!”
Redwine had nothing but praise.
“Everybody communicated. It’s like a dance. Everything went great. They took care of business.”