Disasters That Didn't Really Happen
Over the past few months, Basking Ridge has seen several substantial disasters. An explosion in a heating unit on the roof of a local school severely injured a worker and started a fire raging. Two automobiles collided at high velocity; a driver was trapped in one vehicle, and a passerby was trapped under the other vehicle. A heater in an industrial garage started a fire, and a nearby worker was knocked unconscious in the burning building. But you never read about these in a newspaper, and you probably never even heard about them from your neighbors. Each one of these disasters was a drill set up by the Basking Ridge Fire Company to train its fire fighters and EMT's.
A Two-Car Accident
The 911 call reported a two-car accident, and when the police arrived on scene they found two trapped and injured patients. The fire fighters were next on scene, and saw how bad it really was: Smoke was coming from both cars, and either could erupt into flame at a moment’s notice. The first car had come to rest against an embankment, so there was no access to the driver through his side of the car. The second car was accessible, but had tragically come to rest on the pelvis of a victim trapped under the left rear tire. EMTs arrived a short while later, and immediately started caring for the victims while the fire fighters planned the extrications.
The drill that started this way seemed real to all participants. The volunteers responding had put on their turnout gear at the fire house and drove to the scene with lights flashing and adrenaline pumping. The drive was shorter than usual, though, because the exercise took place in the parking lot of the firehouse, and the two cars had been donated to the company for exactly this purpose. The patient in the driver’s seat was not a member of the company, but rather a neighbor who volunteered his time. The patient with a car parked on his pelvis was “Rescue Randy”, a manikin designed to take such abuse without muttering a complaint.
Some of the fire fighters at the drill concentrated on fighting the two vehicle fires that were threatening the safety of both victims and responders. Other fire fighters got to practice two different kinds of extrications. The first involved taking apart an automobile in an awkward position to extricate the victim trapped inside. The embankment that blocked the driver’s side was imaginary, but all the rest of the damage to the vehicle was real – two Fire Captains had carefully damaged both vehicles earlier that evening. Neither right side door would open, so fire fighters had to break the glass to allow an EMT to crawl inside and begin treating the patient. Eventually, they used a glass saw to take out the front window, and a “Jaws of Life” to dismantle the posts supporting the car’s roof. After prying back the roof, they were able to force open the right front door to provide a path to remove the patient.
At the other car, the fire fighters had to raise the vehicle resting on poor Randy in a manner that was both safe and rapid. They used a combination of tools for the task: airbags lifted the vehicle inch-by-inch, and wooden cribbing was then rapidly placed under it to support the weight of the car more safely. The fire fighters had a couple minutes to plan this engineering task and a few more minutes to implement it. Throughout this, water was pouring into the engine compartment, and EMTs were ministering to a severely injured victim.
One group of three EMTs faced a hard problem: safely extricating a slightly injured person from a crumpled car without inflicting further injuries. Another group of three EMTs faced an even more difficult problem: treating a severely injured patient while preparing to remove him rapidly once the weight was removed from his body. All EMTs continued the drill to the point where the patient was safely placed in an ambulance and en route to a local trauma center.
The heart of the drill took about half an hour, and restoring all the gear to readiness took about the same. After that, all participants discussed the exercise, and the lessons to be learned from it. And a few weeks later, the company was called to I-287 for a car with the left side lodged up against the median divider. They were able to extricate the trapped patient safely and quickly, almost as if they had prepared for it.
An Explosion on top of a School
The technician was working on the High Volume Air Conditioning unit on top of a local elementary school when it exploded and a fire started raging. No one noticed the technician, but a neighbor called 911. The company rolled slowly to this drill, through the light evening traffic in town. Once they got on school property though, the lights started flashing and the blood was pumping.
The fire fighters took immediate control of the scene: they established command, lit the dark night, hooked up hoses to fire hydrants, and prepared to fight the fire. During this process, the EMTs were near the ambulances, establishing a “Rehabilitation Station” at which the fire fighters would be checked during and after the blaze. When the first fighters got on top of the roof, though, they saw the victim, and everything changed.
Some of the fire fighters continued to battle the blaze. Others concentrated on rescuing the victim. Two EMTs went up the ladder to provide aid while the technical rescue was planned. The victim’s broken leg was splinted before he was placed into a Stoke Litter and gently lowered by rope down a ladder to other EMTs waiting on the deck. The victim was placed in an ambulance, and taken to a trauma center. The fire was soon brought under control, and all volunteers returned to the firehouse to maintain the gear and debrief the exercise.
The Basking Ridge Fire Company needs more fire fighters and EMTs. The Company will pay for all formal schools, and provide additional training such as these drills. For more information on helping out, see Joining the Company.. And if you don’t have time to join the Company, you can still contribute through donations such as old cars or your financial support at Donate Here.