12-Hour Rescue Course Developed To Fill Needs of 57 Squads in County
FEATURES
—photos by Kerry K. Rose.
A 12-hour course in vehicle extrication and fireground search and rescue were the result of a study of the responses made by the 57 volunteer fire departments in Onondaga County, N.Y.
When County Fire Coordinator Michael S. Waters looked over the Onondaga County Fire Control Center’s dispatching records for these departments, he found that the number of rescue calls nearly equaled the number of fire calls. However, there was not an equivalent amount of rescue training. Although New York State provided a comprehensive fire fighting training program, rescue t raining was nearly nonexistent. Discussions with the fire chiefs in the county led to the conclusion that there was a need for the development of a vehicle extrication course.
Onondaga County, which includes Syracuse, is interlaced with 2150 miles of roads outside the city and 15 villages. This includes 75 miles of limited access highways which are part of the interstate system. The fire departments are responsible for providing immediate aid to auto accident victims. In 1975, there were over 5000 personal injury auto accidents in the county that necessitated emergency care.
Federal funds obtained
All 57 fire departments in the county have rescue squads and 20 of these also provide ambulance service. Upon investigation, it was determined that many fire departments lacked an adequate course to familiarize fire fighters in the use of self-contained breathing apparatus under fireground situations.
Waters conferred with County Executive John H. Mulroy, who suggested seeking Federal Highway Safety Act funds and agreed that if such funds were obtained, the county would pay 50 percent of the course costs. In May 1976, the grant application was approved by the New York State Department of T ransportation’s interdepartmental traffic safety committee. Federal funds paid for textbooks, audio-visual materials and other supplies while the county covered the instructors’ salaries.
The next task was to obtain instructors. Waters selected William Patchett, a 20-year member of the Syracuse Fire Department with 17 years of experience with the department’s rescue company. Patchett had previously been a volunteer fireman in Onondaga County and knew the problems faced by volunteer rescue squads. Patchett selected Michael Kurtz to assist him in teaching the course. Kurtz has been with the Syracuse Fire Department seven years, including six years in the rescue company. He also is a volunteer fireman and realized the need for such a course for his volunteer department.
Course developed
Waters, Patchett and Kurtz developed a rescue course based on their experiences and authoritative sources. The course was to be presented once in each of the four sections of the county to rescue officers from every department. Classes were limited to 15 to 20 men to allow the instructor to work closely with each student. The rescue officers were encouraged to take the information learned back to their departments and put it into effect. With all the officers receiving the same training, it was hoped that rescue operations would be standardized throughout the county.
The course is 12 hours, six of which are classroom work with a multi-media approach. Some audio-visual materials were purchased while others were produced locally. After classroom instruction, there is hands-on training that includes three hours of vehicle extrication and three hours of fireground search and rescue.
The basic idea of the course is to impress on every student the need to know the capabilities of each piece of rescue equipment carried on his apparatus. The instructors stress that it is better to have a thorough knowledge of the use of a limited amount of equipment rather than to have extensive equipment and not know its capabilities.
Many tools used
A variety of vehicle extrication equipment is used, ranging from such basic tools as hacksaws and homemade sheet metal cutters to the more complex air chisels and hydraulic-powered rescue tools. Students learn the capabilities and limitations of the tools. The use of wood blocks for shoring-as-you-go is stressed as a safety factor. Another idea impressed upon the students is that many times simple hand tools, when properly used, can accomplish the same objectives as the most expensive tools.
In fireground search and rescue, a complete knowledge of the breathing apparatus, as well as what to do in case of equipment failure, is emphasized. No smoke or fire is used in the search and rescue sessions because this would restrict the instructor’s ability to continue observing the students and make on-the-spot corrections. Instead, facepieces are taped over and the students working in teams of two are given emergency problems to solve as they crawl through a structure in a simulated search.
Houses that are to be demolished are used for classes so that students can cut holes in floors and take out windows as they might need to in searching a burning building. Students later find out that a cleaned-out window may provide the means for a necessary rapid escape.
Getting out of building
As the student fire fighters crawl through a building, an instructor may turn off the air supply on one of the masks. The student must not panic but react by using escape methods such as buddy breathing. The fire fighter must reach the outside of the building within 60 seconds. Students are taught the proper method to exit from a window and during this operation, other fire fighters are placed outside the window to catch an escaping fire fighter and prevent injury.
During the search, the fire fighters may have pieces of wood, clothing or furniture dropping on them, simulating falling ceilings or a partial building collapse. In addition, the removal of victims from a building and the rescue of trapped fire fighters are practiced.
How was this class received by members of the fire departments in Onondaga County? Since the course was first presented in June 1976, it has been given eight times, twice in each of the four sections of the county. Word of the knowledge gained has made it one of the most sought-after classes in the county. In addition to the county funded sessions, individual departments in Onondaga and other counties have paid to have the course given to their personnel. Instructors have received the same high praise wherever the course has been offered.
One fire fighter credited the knowledge gained in this class with saving his life when he became trapped in a fully involved dwelling fire.
