By Rori Bennett – Junior Reporter
On Saturday, August 15, the Walpole Island First Nations Fire Department participated in some unique training on the extraction of victims following a motor vehicle accident.
The training was held at Murray Street Auto in Wallaceburg.
Terry Timmerman, owner of the business, donated the vehicle that the firefighters utilized for training.
“The reason why we have these guys training in auto extraction right now is because, first, you never know when an accident is going to happen,” Chief Charles Wright Sr. of the Walpole Island Fire Department told the Sydenham Current.
“You never know when your going to have to use your accident extraction kit. We always want to be prepared and have all of the knowledge we can, to provide to a rescue operation… in an accident scene.
Wright Sr. added: “We haven’t used our jaws of life too often, but that’s why we want to continue with the training, to make sure they have the knowledge, in an event they may need it.”
Wright Sr. said the time it takes for an auto extraction depends largely on the magnitude of the accident.
“In those cases, the car is not completely banged up, like it might be when you get to the scene, where the car is totally smashed,” Wright Sr. said.
“If you train properly, then you can do a pretty rapid extraction. Sometimes, its just a matter of taking a door off to extricate one person, but sometimes you have to take the roof off to get at four people.”
Wright Sr. said everything depends on the magnitude of the accident and the damage at hand.
“We haven’t been too active in training, but every so often we’ll go to the fire hall, and start things up, make sure they’re all operational,” he said.
“We haven’t had an opportunity with an actual car, which is why I’m thankful to Terry, for actively providing a car for the men to train on.”
Here are some photos from the training:
