It is quarter past seven in the evening when the alarms go off at the Wieringerwerf and Middenmeer fire stations. It's a Priority 2 alert: storm damage at De Stek industrial park. But things turned out a little different… a street race was held in front of the FireWare building and a car lost control at high speed. The vehicle hit a tree, which then fell onto the car, and a second vehicle traveling in the opposite direction swerved to avoid the first one and ended up among the evergreens. What a situation!
Technical emergency response is one of the four core tasks of the firefighting services, which is why it is crucial that the specialist techniques are regularly practiced in the most realistic manner possible. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted on the training levels of firefighters, with many areas not receiving the attention they require for an extended period. And so the technical emergency response in our own backyard proved a great opportunity to work on skills while still adhering to safety measures – and this time not remotely!
Getting an overall picture
The first step for determining how to tackle a task is to create a clear picture of the incident. 'What do I see; what do I hear; what do I smell?' During their initial reconnaissance, the firefighters noted that the first vehicle's airbag had burst, and they could smell alcohol in the car. The victims (in the form of manikins) in both cars were still alive, but unconscious. They had to be removed from the vehicles immediately, and serious neck and back injuries were anticipated. Fluid was leaking from the second car and the engine was smoking.
The firefighters were free to cut down the trees on our site and use heavy-duty cutting and other tools to free the victims from the wrecks. FireWare only stuck to staging the scenario during the exercise, while the exercise leaders from North-Holland North Safety Region handled the training exercise itself, its execution and the subsequent evaluation.
Decor
During the week in which the exercise was held, FireWare found itself at the centre of the conversion of its front garden, but for us it was great that we were able to help the firefighting services work on their skills. During the day of the exercise the cars were lowered into position using cranes and the trees were pulled down, resulting in an extremely complex scenario for the participants. We'd like to thank Fire Brigade Middenmeer en Wieringerwerf, Sturm Loonwerkersbedrijf en D. Meijer Agriservice for their contribution and hard work!
Outdoor fun and games
It was a great experience to be once again performing real exercises and staging them. While the online experience is also fun and beneficial, nothing compares to 'real life'. There was sufficient space in the garden for the two crews of the fire engines to work safely and without the threat of coronavirus. There was even enough space for a few basic chainsaw exercises. Meanwhile the observers could use their 'own' offices to watch the exercise through windows. We have certainly missed real-life exercises!
If you would also like to create a challenging scenario, then please get in touch with the FireWare staging specialists. Thanks to their specialist staging expertise and extensive rental fleet, no scenario is too farfetched! Just take a look at our portfolio.
