BY DI SNEDDON
Fire and Rescue NSW technical rescue instructor Jeff Hartley says the Upper Hunter is in good hands when it comes to an emergency.
The past three weekends have seen members of local Fire and Rescue Brigades undergo intense training and cold, wet weather on the last assessment day truly put the team to task.
Their job, to retrieve a casualty from an overturned vehicle with suspected spinal injuries.
The verbal direction was clear, communication strong, reassurance of the casualty ongoing, use of equipment was innovative and concentration on the job at hand was demonstrated by all on task.
It is exactly what Jeff was hoping to see. He travels to brigades throughout the state, mainly in metropolitan locations, to upgrade the rescue skill set of fire fighters in anything from extraditing casualties from car crashes and retrieving people and animals from confined or vertical spaces.
The exercises need to be diverse because the situations they are called to are equally different.
In the Hunter this factor is more so given the large number of heavy vehicles and equipment on local roads.
The group of retained fire fighters undergoing training at the Denman Fire and Rescue Station in Virginia Street, were keen to take on everything Jeff had to say over the six days of training.
“These people are really motivated, they have to be, they have got full time jobs in addition to their commitment to fire and rescue and they have given up their own time, away from their family for three weekends, and their dedication shows in the way they perform,” Jeff said.
When instructing, Jeff says he never suggests the exact way someone needs to perform a task because every situation is different.
“They need to know what tools they have, the capability of those tools, understand basic concepts of rescue and to fully realise the consequences of what they do to control the reactions.
“There is no one set of rules, it is about using your imagination and knowledge,” he said.
“Most importantly, it is about not putting yourself at risk.”
When it comes to rescue or extraditing a casualty from a vehicle, the focus is always knowing that a job well done goes a long way in ensuring that person gets to go home.
