February 13, 2017 - Members of the Joaquin Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) and Tenaha VFD worked together to train newer firemen and refresh more experienced members on Jaws of Life equipment on January 28, 2017.
Joaquin firemen Stephen Ewing and Jesse Parent led the training along with members of ACE EMS Jesse Griffith, Kayla Williams and Chase Meador.
Extrication was the main subject, teaching firemen options when making room for paramedics to be able to get to occupants of a crashed vehicle. A four door sedan was the first metal victim as firemen utilized the powerful claws of the Jaws of Life along with spreaders, power pushers, window punch tool, wrecking bar, and pick head axe.
Instructors indicated for the training firemen how to utilize each tool and the best cutting locations on vehicles. They also learned how best to break windows on the vehicles to gain access to people inside. The first vehicle to be cut on was a Mercury Cougar and after that the firemen moved on to a Pontiac G6.
An added twist on the G6 was the vehicle had occupants, meaning the firemen then had to be careful to not only avoid inadvertently causing injury to the actors, but also the EMS personnel interacting with the occupants as they would during a true crash incident.
A final vehicle the firemen worked on represented a mock rollover incident.
The training took place just outside of Tenaha and the vehicles used in the training were provided by Mark Odum. Training sessions such as this are invaluable to first responders in helping them be prepared when someone's life is on the line and time is of the essence.
Several fire departments have mutual aid agreements with Joaquin VFD and have been taking advantage of group training opportunities. Including controlled house burning and rescue scenarios navigating through smoke.
