What goes into rescue training?

I-40 through the mountains means commercial vehicle wrecks in tight quarters. Here's what heavy rescue involves, and why crews have to train for it.

Heavy rescue is the work firefighters do when the obstacle between them and a victim is too big.

Wrecked vehicles, collapsed structures, industrial equipment that's shifted onto someone. Any of it has to be stabilized, lifted, and shifted before the extrication can start. It takes specialized tools, and the skills to execute the extrication as fast and safely as possible. Last weekend, we sponsored a heavy lifting and moving class at Crabtree Fire Department in Haywood County, North Carolina. Chad Moody, our loose-equipment sales rep for Western NC and the chief at Crabtree, ran the class alongside Larry Greer (Bone), Jarrett Jenkins, and Jason Tilley.

Day one covered vehicle stabilization and basic extrication. Day two got into the heavy stuff. Big vehicle lifts, moves, and stabilization on tractor trailers and larger apparatus. The class pulled firefighters with 30+ years on the job and firefighters with six months who'd never had a tool in their hand. The instructors started the morning back at the basics for those folks and worked up to the heavy lifting from there.

Why does this training matter in Western North Carolina?

A big part of it is I-40. The interstate runs through Haywood County, including the I-40 Gorge section that was hit hard during Hurricane Helene. Construction has the corridor down to one lane in each direction. When a commercial vehicle accident happens down there, crews are working in tight quarters. That means the rescue happens right where the vehicle sits. Stabilize, lift, move, extricate, all in place. The tools on hand for the class: Paratech struts and airbags, HydroFusion X2 struts, and Genesis SL1 and SL3 extrication tools. Chad's hoping to grow the class into an annual staple in the region. A few of these classes exist further east, but they're hard to travel to when you're on the western end of North Carolina. The goal is 50 to 60 students a year based right there in Haywood County.

We're proud to be part of it.