Mac Olsen
Express Staff
Firefighters for Smoky River Emergency Services recently trained for removing people out of a school bus, and they had to learn how to work in its tight confines.
They held their training session at the fire hall in Falher during the evening of Aug. 1, using an old school bus from the High Prairie School Division. Two firefighters, Chris Gullett and Kelley MacNeil, acted as the injured parties.
Gullett was first, and they practiced putting a neck brace on him and then placed him on a spine board, strapping him in tightly to avoid movement. Then they had to lift him carefully over the seats and take him through the rear emergency exit.
When it was MacNeil’s turn, they placed her in a K.E.D. – a Kendrick Extrication Device – and then two firefighters lifted her out through the front exit.
The Kendrick Extrication Device (K.E.D.) is a device that is used in vehicle extrication to remove victims of traffic collisions from motor vehicles. Commonly carried on ambulances, the K.E.D. is typically applied by an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or another first responder.
At the end of the training, the firefighters discussed issues that could arise during extrication and how to work through them.
Smoky River Emergency Services used the school a week earlier to train for a motor vehicle collision.