Duluth firefighters train with new extrication equipment
July 10--Duluth firefighters spent Thursday smashing car windshields, ripping off doors and lifting up roofs as they learned how to use new extrication equipment.
The new tools, purchased with the help of a $161,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, include hydraulic spreaders -- known as the "Jaws of Life" -- cutters, two types of rams and other items meant to help the Duluth Fire Department with vehicle extrications. Three rigs -- at the downtown, West Duluth and UMD stations -- will be outfitted with the new gear.
Every member of the department will be trained on how to extract patients from vehicles with the new equipment. Capt. Scott Kleive said the new equipment is necessary because cars are being built with tougher materials, making them harder to cut through.
"The compartment space where people are sitting has gotten more durable," Kleive said. "Some of our tools that were replaced were up to 20 years old and just won't cut apart a modern car."
The department's old hydraulic cutters had a shearing strength of 109,000 pounds per square inch. The new ones have a strength of 236,000 pounds.
Training is taking place on six different days and is divided into two-hour blocks, allowing each firefighter to try out the new gear. The department takes apart real cars -- junked vehicles provided by Bayside Recycling at no cost.
On Thursday, firefighters learned how to remove doors from a car and how to push up a dashboard, and were able to lift the roof off a car with the help of a hydraulic cutter and spreader. Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Edwards went through a portion of the training and said it makes the firefighters more confident.
"I think one of the biggest fears of a firefighter is not knowing how to do something that they need to know how to do," Edwards said. "That's why we continue to train every day: So that we're prepared."
Pete Johnson was trained Thursday and said he appreciates the smaller size of the new equipment.
"They're definitely a little lower-profile and smaller, so they fit in tighter and different spots," Johnson said. "They're better, they're easier to work, they're faster."
During the training firefighters also were taught where to cut to avoid airbags, which could injure a patient or rescuer. The class covered every aspect of a vehicle extrication to ensure the safety of both victims and firefighters.
The firefighters who work on the three rigs equipped with the new tools will receive more in-depth training in the fall.
Copyright 2015 - Duluth News Tribune
