I'm a New Extrication Instructor!

[rmoore]

Received an email from a newly appointed fire department training officer. He writes...<br />"How do you begin your basic extrication training? I find it hard to limit certain information and techniques to my probies when they are just starting out. I feel as if I overwhelm them with so much info.

Do I start them with the tools& techniques or the rituals?

My response:<br />I'd say you could adopt the Phases of Rescue material from some of my previous Univ of X articles as a starting point. The Phases drill is essentially four modules that I call "Phases". Phase One is basic, essential stuff such as stabilization and access. Phase Two is work with doors. Phase Three focuses on roof evolutions. Phase Four is the jacking of the dash.

Take each Phase and make it a rescue drill. Learn all the different ways to do Phase One tasks then <br />move on to Phase Two. When your crews have all the various possible ways figured, start doing the <br />drill for time. The grand finale is that your crews will be timed as they go through each of the <br />four Phases.

This drill shows competency with NFPA's new standard #1670 on Technical Rescue. By completing the Phases of Rescue drill within the prescribed time constraints you can safely show that your <br />personnel have met the competencies of NFPA #1670, Chapter 6 Vehicle Rescue, Operations level.

Having your training work towards this goal over say a three month period is quite an accomplishment <br />and something that is very 'defensible' if your personnel were to ever go to court.

Any other suggestions from the gang...?

Ron Moore

[neann]

One of the major areas of training that is often overlooked by many training courses is how to get the patient out. Many courses teach how to use the tools and how to cut a car up, but they fail to teach the very basic principle of how will I get the patient out.

Two basic principles are being taught in Victoria<br />1/ Manitain Spinal Alignment<br />2/ Minimal Body Twisting

With these two points in mind, rescue unit can begin training with beneficial smart vehicle cuts rather that time waisting cuts. By using these two principles you will find training to be more effective as all scenarios will have a purpose and not just be a car cutting exercise.

Example of principle .....<br />a/ Patient in drivers seat, back facing rear of car = rear window extrication.<br />b/ Patient in drivers seat, back facing drivers door = drivers door extrication.

Give it a go, your training will improve significantly and so will your scene times

[MetalMedic]

Unfortunately, Ohio does not have any kind of standard extrication training program... so out here, we are on our own just like you are.

For me, when I do training for "beginners" or those who do not do much extrication, I start with stabalization of a car that is on all four wheels and go from there. I make sure everyone gets to practice stabalizing the car before we do anything else.

I then go with simple door removals. Depending on the size of the class and the number of cars, I might have each participant take a turn at defeating a different component, just to give them the "feel" for the tools.

If that goes well, we'll then do a couple different roof techniques (a flap and a removal normally). Once that is done, we do a dash roll using both the ram and the spreaders.

Depending on the class size and available time, that can pretty much take up your day. I realize that gives some enough training to make them dangerous, but my hopes are that if they can do that much, they will also understand their limitiation should they need more expertise and be willing to call for help on the worse calls.

When we get those same people back for a more advanced class, we work with non-hydraulic tools and vehicles with unusual stabalization needs (on their sides, on their tops, etc.). If we ever get to a third session, I like to get into "tunneling" for under-rides and going through roofs and floor boards to access the passenger compartment. For these evolutions, I like to integrate as many tools as possible and try to make the participants "think on their feet" by introducing variables (fire occurs, locating a concealed patient, etc) during the evolutions.

[ 01-01-2002: Message edited by: MetalMedic ]</p>

[Carl Avery]

As important as it is to get your crew experiencing the Joy of Hands on training, especially when it comes to crunching metal, I have to put the vote out there for some Automobile Anatomy and Phisiology. Now I am not talking an Engineering Degree here, but a very basic overview.I think it is vital to "know your Enemy" so the more we know about cars and how they are built and what they are intended to do the better you will be ready to face all the challenges we do when it comes time to OPEN UP!, Hey Please do not misunderstand me. this IS NOT a challenge to any of the previous post, Just an additition to what needs to be considered as you structure your training program

[MetalMedic]

Good call Carl!! I breezed right past that. Somewhere along my travels, I picked up a very nice diagram of a car that is basically transparent so as to show things like compressed shock in bumpers and hatch lids, fuel lines, and reinforced areas in the car. I always include that in a lecture portion at the beginning of the very first session. I also include as many war stories (some I got from this forum) on unusual problems others have faced.

[D Wisner]

Great point Carl. "know your enemy". In response to Ron's e-mail; began in the classroom. As Carl mentioned, your students really need to understand the anatomy/physiology. They also need a working knowledge of terminology (relief cut, purchase point, 5-10-20-rule, etc.) and the equipment they will be working with. When you get to the hands on phase, let them get the feel and be comfortable with the equipment. I would move only as fast as your students retentiveness. To finish, it is important that they know the your dept's S.O.P. However, I would suggest showing your students the different ways to "skin a cat".