Fire crews display skills at road safety day
Twelve fire crews from across England take part in competition
Fire crews from across England have taken part in a competition at Bishop Auckland community fire station. The doors of the fire station were also opened to the public, with opportunities to learn more about road safety and see fire crews at work.
Fire crew extricating a driver in a staged scenario
Listen to Terry and Peter speaking to fire crews, visitors and assessors
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In the fire station yard each extrication competition scenario was created by assessors using a variety of cars. A new JCB places cars in a realistic position which fire crews might face when attending a road traffic collision.
Those being extricated from the cars were fully trained medical staff who provide feedback to assessors on how each team performed. Following the 20 minutes available to each crew to perform the extrication they go through a de-brief and can take the information back to the rest of the crews.
Car passenger at the centre of extrication
“I put myself in the role of the real victim,” explained assessor Caroline, who has been trained to act as a casualty. “What would it be like coming out of a well of unconsciousness to find somebody holding your head, shouting, noises, banging going on? And you’re in pain, you would be absolutely terrified”.
A video wall and other displays were also present to re-enforce the road safety message, including a simulator which demonstrates what it feels like to be in a collision at low speeds.
