10/23/2004:

Hamburg, NY: In an effort to sharpen their rescue skills, firefighters from the Big Tree Volunteer Fire Company conducted a full-scale crash rescue drill early Saturday morning. Lake Erie Towing and Recovery donated crashed vehicles and assisted in preparing the crash scene by moving the vehicles into place. One vehicle was rolled upside down into a drainage ditch where it rested precariously on a slippery incline. The other vehicle was left in the roadway leaking fluids and smoking. The drill objectives were to test the skills of responders in dealing with crash scene hazards, vehicle stabilization and patient extrication. A junior firefighter served as victim in the inverted vehicle.

Upon arrival, firefighters quickly dealt with the hazards the smoking vehicle presented and moved on to locate victims. Both inner and outer circle surveys were done in an attempt to locate all crash victims. Once it was determined that only one victim was entrapped, extrication technicians set out to stabilize the vehicle and gain sustained access to the patient. Since the vehicle came to rest on a slippery slope, stabilization an initial patient access proved challenging . Firefighters utilized vast amounts of cribbing in conjunction with Paratech struts in order to stabilize the vehicle. Rebar was drilled into the ground to provide anchor points for the strut stabilization.

Once the vehicle was deemed stable, door removal was conducted to provide access to the patient. EMS personnel from Big Tree were then able to stabilize and remove the patient from the vehicle.

The drill was deemed a success with all objectives accomplished in a timely manner.