Cherokee County Fire And Emergency Services: Recruits Learn About Vehicle Extrication

Press release from the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services:

August 4, 2021

Cherokee County Fire Recruits went through a 3-day class on vehicle extrication at the fire training center last week. Vehicle extrication is the process of removing a vehicle from around a person who has been involved in a motor vehicle collision, when conventional means of exit are impossible or inadvisable. A delicate approach is needed to minimize injury to the victim during the process. According to Instructor, Jim Laughlin, “The 3-day class was taught by Lt. Kevin Davis and assisted by Lt. Wesley Densmore, Lt. Chris Martin and myself. The class learned stabilization, cribbing and gaining access into vehicle compartments using hydraulic tools in a safe manner. The class also had a practical scenario on the third day which they had to resolve without the help of instructors. It put their skill, knowledge and abilities from all three day of class to use. They all did a great job and learned a lot of good info from this class.” The recruits were also taught about vehicle construction by going over how they were built and how different they are by showing them the differences between cars, passenger vans, SUVs and even eighteen wheelers.  They are also taught about the different types of metals and how to stabilize a vehicle at the accident scene. The recruits started each day in the classroom before going out later in the day to do hands-on training.  The recruits used hydraulic tools like the jaws-of-life to cut the vehicles apart.  Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services knows that trained and skilled personnel are the best asset to have in any type of emergency situation.

This press release was produced by the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services. The views expressed here are the author’s own.