LHFD Drill 5-20-2002

Lake Hiawatha Fire Department

Vehicle Rescue Drill May 22, 2002

The Lake Hiawatha Fire Department maintains their skills by having fire drills three times a month. Topics include bread & butter operations such as hose advancement or ladder placement as well as things we rarely do such as warehouse fires, in this case Vehicle Rescue. In Parsippany, rescue operations are performed by Parsippany Rescue and Recovery.

In the photographs below we are cutting a car graciously donated by the Feller family of Lake Hiawatha, LHFD does not provide vehicle rescue on a primary basis, so we do not carry sophisticated tools such as spreaders, rams or airbags. You will see in the picture we use hand tools and cutting equipment that is routinely used in Structural Firefighting. In a real extrication the vehicle would be stabilized with cribbing to minimize sudden movements that may endanger anyone trapped inside the vehicle.

Click on the Picture to Enlarge it!
	The front of our "wrecked" vehicle. A 1985 Minivan
	The Drivers Side
	The Passengers Side
	Are you on Campville Fire Department? One of your Fire Fighters owned this van!
	Lieutenant Scott Hess instructs Fire Fighter Brooks and Fire Fighter Stoia in the proper technique for forcibly opening the vans sliding door. Chief Smith observes.
	Captain Sonzogni instructs Lieutenant Leaman and Firefighter Watts on creating a "fourth door" on the driver side with a K-12 saw. Most current mini-van models have a sliding door on the drivers side making this technique increasingly unusual.
	The creation of a fourth door allows EMS staff easier access to a patient.
	Chief Smith uses the K12
	Lieutenant Leaman and Fire Fighter Watts remove the windshield - this allows EMS access to patients they may have been unable to reach because of torn steel or obstacle such as the vehicle being pinned under another car or against a guard rail.
	The ultimate in patient access - complete roof removal.
	Chief Smith looks on as the Fire Fighters are shown alternative methods for accessing the engine compartment to extinguish a fire.
	Assistant Chief Golden reviews the evenings activities with Captain Sonzogni and Lieutenant Hess.
	The drill is complete, the firefighters have refreshed their skill and clean up, before going home. The roof is stacked on top and a salvage company will take the car away.