First response
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Emergency personnel work to open up a minivan involved n a crash to help remove injured passengers during this simulation during a training session in Claxton on Sunday.
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A Jaws of Life-type device is used to push metal out of the way to rescue someone trapped inside a crashed vehicle during this simulation at last weekend’s two-day training session in Claxton for volunteer firefighters and other emerngency first-responders in Anderson County. Some of the volunteers shown here are with the Claxton and Andersonville volunteer fire departments and the Anderson County Rescue Squad.
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Emergency services personnel from various Ander- son County agencies, including the Andersonville and Claxton volunteer fire departments and Anderson County Rescue Squad, work on the simulated extrication of pas- sengers from crashed motor vehicles during a training session last weekend in the Claxton area.
A key part of responding to traffic accident calls involves rescuing victims trapped in crashed vehicles, and emergency responders are required to train for this.
Every year, firefighters and other first-responders prepare for those extrications by attending a course that, in Anderson County, is hosted by the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department.
Claxton Fire Chief Dusty Sharpe joined five other instructors in teaching extrication last weekend through the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads.
Both paid and volunteer departments could join the event, which Sharpe said was a partnership with several groups across Anderson County and the surrounding region. These included the Anderson County Rescue Squad, along with fire departments in Andersonville, Medford and Briceville.
“We’re open for anyone in the general area,” he said regarding who could come and train.
This year participants practiced stabilizing vehicles and using tools to get to the trapped patients. They used 20 cars to simulate incidents at the former Crossroads Christ Fellowship site Saturday and Sunday.
“We have a lot of fatalities on Clinton Highway, so we have to be prepared for the worst,” Sharpe said.
He said situations requiring extrication can vary from a steering wheel and dashboard pinning a driver, to people just being too stressed out to open the door. He said all the scenarios simulated over the weekend were ones his department had handled in the past.
“Not all of the newer people have gotten to experience that,” he said of the situations. “People can see what to expect on an actual car wreck.”
When asked for advice for drivers in these scenarios, he said, “Honestly just try to stay calm.”
Regarding challenges for his department generally, he said lack of personnel affects Claxton just as it does other departments across the region.
“You’re having to do a lot of work with a little amount of people,” he said. The department has about 18 volunteers at present.
He said that anyone interested in volunteering can join the group for one of its other training sessions, which take place at 7 p.m. every Thursday at either of Claxton’s fire stations, at 2194 Clinton Highway and 898 Old Emory Rd.
Training using real cars occurs just once a year, but the other sessions have included diving, working with ropes, and handling fires.
For more information,, go to claxtonfire.com, or submit a form or email directly to claxtonfire@comcast.net.