Somerset Fire Department takes on extrication training

Jul. 22--It's not about removing a patient from the vehicle -- it's about removing the vehicle from the patient, according to the Somerset Fire Department's Captain Training Officer Bengie Howard.

Somerset firefighters are participating this week in hands-on training for vehicle extrication.

Taking place at the Hal Rogers Fire Training Center, the training takes each of the department's 10-man crews through different vehicle scenarios, learning how to use the specialized equipment it takes to "remove the car from the patient."

Howard said he stages accident scenes for the firefighters to follow. When they show up, they can be greeted by anything from a car wrapped around a tree, to one sitting upside down or on its side, to one with a full fledged utility pole speared straight through.

"The worst case scenario. That's what I do with them," Howard said.

The cars are provided by River Metals Recycling, which lets the department do whatever they want in terms of cutting, hacking or generally destroying what is left of them. Then, the business takes them back to their facility, Howard said.

The equipment that the group is training with comes from America's Bravest Equipment, with company representative Scott Sizemore being on hand to walk firefighters through the steps.

The first step, Howard explains, is stabilization. The scene cannot be safe enough for crews to work if the vehicle is in danger of rolling over, or falling down an embankment, or whatever else could happen to it based on its position and location.

Very rarely does a vehicle extrication take place on a nice clear, flat surface, he said. Firefighters are taken through the process of making sure the vehicle is stable before they can work with it.

During actual wrecks, the crew have many more things to worry about as well, Howard said. The vehicle could be spilling fuel -- thousands of gallons of fuel, in the case of a tanker. Or, one vehicle could be blocking another.

If there's a child involved, firefighters could have to contend with an upset or irate parent. They may have to work around EMS personnel who are climbing inside the car to stabilize a patient, "starting IV's, making sure the patient isn't bleeding to death," Howard said.

There could be other environmental dangers, like live electric lines. Plus, different vehicles are made out of different materials -- modern cars have a lot of plastic, but older models may have steel. Airbags, both those that have gone off and those that haven't yet, could be another challenge.

It's up to a battalion chief to assess a scene and come up with a strategy. From there, lieutenants and captains pick the tactics they want to use to best get the task done. The firefighters doing the work are "task level," Howard said, and they might be having to do double-duty, acting as EMTs and administering patient care before an ambulance arrives.

"These guys have a whole lot to deal with," Howard said.

Firefighters have to have 240 hours of training each year. Not only does that help assure the citizens of Somerset and Pulaski -- SFD assists with all of the area's volunteer departments when needed -- that they are able to help them no matter what kind of emergency arises, but it also helps with residents' insurance rates.

Last year SFD improved their ISO (Insurance Services Office) score, upgrading from a three to a two.

SFD is working harder every day to improve even more, Howard said.

"There's not many fire departments in the state of Kentucky that are a two," he said. "We're working every day to get to a one."

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