Firefighters put their skills, equipment to the test
GREENSBORO — Rescue Randy lay squished between the front seats of the Nissan Maxima.
"He's not in good shape," Assistant Fire Chief Kevin King said of the test dummy. "He's down on both legs."
Rescuing an accident victim, however, is no laughing matter. For that reason, firefighters from District 13 participated in a Big Rig Rescue training session at Ray Harris Towing and Hauling on Tuesday.
The firefighters simulated an uncommon accident in which a 47,000-pound cement mixer overturned on a car.
In a three-hour morning class, Billy Leach Jr., the developer of Big Rig Rescue, instructed the firefighters on mixer anatomy and weight, and a new approach to stabilizing the mixer and providing a safe approach to the trapped victims in the car.
"My concern is these people (and) their safety," Leach said, gesturing toward the firefighters. "And yes, I'm concerned about the patient because that's my job, but I want to be safe and get the chance to go home."
The 32-year veteran of firefighting said it's important that firefighters learn more about what they can do with their equipment and towing equipment to safely expedite a rescue.
"The quicker we get these patients out, common sense tells us they have a greater chance of survival," Leach said.
The firefighters later performed Leach's five-step process of overturns and underrides: identify the parts of all vehicles involved, stabilize the larger vehicle, lower the smaller vehicle, lift the larger vehicle, and separate the vehicles and extricate victims.
The men applied those principles to rig the mixer and pull out the car with the firetruck while the tow operators lifted the mixer. The firefighters used the Jaws of Life and special shears to disassemble the car and tend to Rescue Randy.
Firefighter Scott Kilpatrick said the five steps provided everyone with the same knowledge about how to manage a wreck that could happen with U.S. 29 under the company's jurisdiction.
He said it was overwhelming to see such a large vehicle on top of a small car.
"Being that we don't deal with it a lot and we don't use our stabilization equipment a lot for that, it was a new challenge for us," Kilpatrick said.
Dennis Harris, co-owner of Harris Towing and Hauling, donated his time, space and banged-up cars for the training.
Harris learned more about fire safety techniques, while the firefighters learned about towing equipment and how to cooperate with tow operators.
"We're in the towing business to make a living," Harris said.
"But when it comes to rescue there's no price. We're out there to extricate somebody."
Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7059 or dioni.wise@news-record.com
Firefighters weigh their options during a training session with
