Sabetha Fire Department - Training for Every Emergency

TRAINING SCENARIO: A vehicle with 4 occupants is traveling at a high rate of speed when it suddenly leaves the roadway, careens towards a creek where it becomes airborne, flips end over end and lands on the opposite creek bed, upside down and with the roof against the ground. With all of the comotion, bystanders and family have arrived at the scene. How are you going to safely rescue the occupants of the vehicle? This is the challenge posed to the Sabetha firefighters at their last drill. This scenario is more likely than you might think, and they have worked similar calls in the past. As firefighters, the instinct is to rush in and address the emergency immediately. However, sometimes the complexity of a call forces them to slow down, think over the options, and devise the best plan to safely address an emergency. Firefighters used winches of both brush trucks to secure the vehicle from moving down or side to side. Rescue struts and cribbing were used to prop the vehicles roof off of the ground, and the jaws of life were used to remove doors and posts. The occupants were then placed on long spine boards and moved up the hill where EMS personnel could begin treatment. The drill required them to use nearly all of the auto rescue tools and was a great way to really put their skills and minds to the test.