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Extrication.Com |
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Swansea MA Fire Department
October 15th Chief Peter Burke with 7 of the 30 members of the Swansea Ma Fire Department taking the 40-hour program. The member are standing in front of a vehicle they just cut in half with a Sawzall. This is the same 40-hour program
normally taught as a Monday through Friday "day" course. Each component has been
broken up to teach Swansea's volunteer members according to their training
availability weekends for the month of October.
If you notice the front end does not nose dive into the roadway and the steering column was rotated through the windshield line. Swansea has a 40-inch spreader that could easy lay the dash on top of the hood of the vehicle. Basic Skills Segment of the 40-hour Extrication Program
The October 16th attending members faced a complex evolution having a double entrapment. The class soon learned one of the benefits of the Modified Dash Roll. Half of the 15 group used a 40-inch spreader to displace the dash, the other half used a ResQTek 190 combi tool and PowerHawk mechanical ram to displace the driver's side. MDR with Combi Tool and PowerHawk Mechanical Ram
We are often asked if different hydraulic manufacturer's tools can be mixed and matched?? The answer is yes and no! First the operating systems have to be completely compatible including hydraulic fluids. Some tool manufacturers will change fittings and all component o-rings to meet fluid compatibility of your existing system. Extrication.Com owns three sets of hydraulic tools from ResQTek and Hurst. All of the tools have a 5,000 psi operating system and same hydraulic fluid. In the above picture is our light weight ResQTek symo power unit with a Honda engine, Hurst cutters and a ResQTek combi-tool. The hydraulic hose lines and couplers are identical and can be seen in the above photo hooked up using both Hurst and ResQTek hose lines and connectors. This is an example of two interchangeable tool systems; plug and play. ResQTek tools also have an internal relief valve enabling them to be used with systems of higher pressure. So in the future should we use a 10,000 psi operating system we can still use our ResQTek tools. Again before purchasing or hooking up your current tools to another system check with the manufacturer first to void any warranty or liability issues.
This scenario offers an excellent opportunity to show how the Extrication.Com Modified Dash Roll can be used when a conventional roll can not. The MDR technique was executed on both sides of this sedan vs. truck under ride.
Members showed how much reach a 40-inch spreader could attend performing the Modified Dash Roll by hyper extending the lift.
This was the first volunteer fire department in New England and east coast to host a forty hour basic-intermediate-advanced extrication program as a municipal hire; funded by a county grant. The basic skills classroom was taught on drill nights with the remaining training taught on weekends. Less than a week later the department responded to a horrific accident where the training was put to use. |
Last modified: 05/10/08
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