Thirty-eight firefighters from Berryhill, Tiawah, Tri-district, Inola, Oak Grove, Alva, Okmulgee, Hominy, Broken Arrow, Diamond Head Lone Chappel, Northwest Rogers County Fire Protection District, Vinita and Bridge the Gap Rescue (from Arkansas) were enrolled in the three-day class.
Goldbeck said there are obvious challenges firefighters face when extricating a person from a vehicle. During the hands-on training, donated vehicles were strategically placed in various positions for firefighters to practice several extrication techniques.
“We addressed some of the entanglements encountered while extricating victims from a wreck involving one or more vehicles,” he said. During the training, scenarios got “tougher and tougher.” The goal of the training was to stabilize the vehicle and disentangle the victim.
The different steps to the extrication process included protecting the scene, patient triage, vehicle stability, create accessibility for emergency crew, removal of roof or door and safe removal of the person.
“Upon arrival to a scene, medical teams always enter first to perform assessment on those involved in the wreck and to stop bleeding,” he added.
The main challenge for any firefighter is keeping up with the different make and models of vehicles.
“With all of these different features we have to work around them. We learned on some old and older models of cars, which are not consistent with the newer models,” Goldbeck said.
When cars get donated for training purposes, they do not always get the newest, he said, causing techniques to vary.
Extrication tools, such as an extrication app, allow emergency crews to expedite the process by knowing where restraint systems, reinforcements and propulsion systems are located in the vehicle.
“Hybrid vehicles pose a greater risk to all involved due to their higher voltage of an extra battery. Almost all automakers are consistent with one thing: anything color-coated orange means to stay away from it. They are just not consistent with where they run those wires,” Goldbeck said.
Hybrid cars also have air bags in the roofline and sidecar cylinders are placed throughout the vehicle to keep them charged, he said. “If you cut into one of those, it could be very dangerous.”
Another challenge for firefighters is the metal used in manufacturing vehicles.
“We found the metals are being made stronger and are being developed faster than our tools can keep up with,” he said.
This forces emergency crews to come up with new techniques and learn where the stronger metal is being placed, concerning firefighters with getting around that.
Goldbeck emphasized, “These classes are built on how to recognize all challenging issues that are constantly arising while keeping those safe who respond to a wreck.”
He said firefighters use hydraulic tools like jaws-of-life, cutters and rams. When those don't work, he said, they fall back on hand tools.
“Extrication is dangerous work even when you have the appropriate tools. The trainings are aimed at recognizing those dangers,” he said.
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