Pictures: TODD LEWIS
FRESH from graduation, newly appointed Mount Gambier Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) full-time firefighters have had their first taste of intense training with a four-day road crash rescue course last week.
Top Spot Auto Dismantlers provided the vehicle wrecks for the recruits to work on and the rigorous training took place at the Wireless Road location from Thursday to Sunday.
Firefighters Langley Fry, Sean Mayo and Ian Bouchard were thrown straight in the deep end to learn the key skills associated with road crash rescue operations.
South Australian MFS station officer and transport rescue coordinator Paul Moran said the aim of the sessions was to train the firefighters to a technician level.
“These guys are a recent addition to the shifts at Mount Gambier, so we needed to make sure they are upskilled,” Mr Moran said.
“After the training they are at a road crash rescue technician level, which means they will be able to attend any type of road crash rescue incident.”
Over the four days, the recruits worked on various vehicles, which aimed to mimic various road crash rescue scenarios.
“We did four different cut-downs and assessments with them,” Mr Moran said.
“We went through different entrapments of people and how we utilise our equipment and procedures to get the person out in a timely manner.”
Mr Moran said the training taught the firefighters how to deal with the emotional toll of attending a road crash scene.
“We tend to take an analytical approach rather than an emotional approach when we get to the accident scene, because we need to make sure we can help the people involved as best as we can,” he said.
“The MFS has a huge support network for our staff to make sure we can deal with emotions they may be feeling afterwards.”
Limestone Coast MFS regional commander Mark Searcy said the training was the beginning of a series of upskilling the recruits would be required to complete over the coming months.
“At the end of this month we will have some pump rescue rope training planned for the new guys,” Mr Searcy said.
“They will learn how to use the equipment such as ropes, harnesses etc.”
Full of enthusiasm, the new recruits were excited to be learning the trade of a full-time firefighter after joining the Mount Gambier team just last month.
“I was a retained firefighter and this was my fifth go at trying to join the full-time crew, so it is a dream come true,” Mr Bouchard said.
“The skills we are going to be able to learn with the specialised appliances down here in Mount Gambier are going to be fantastic for our careers.”
