TERRACE, B.C. -- A five-day regional training session on auto extrication wrapped up in Terrace this week, with firefighters practicing rescue techniques in a variety of situations.
Eighteen fire fighters from Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert took part in the sessions, which involved various scenarios involving large and small vehicles.
The focus for most of the week was heavy-rescue training.
Terrace Deputy Fire Chief Dave Jephson says we've always had large industrial vehicles rolling through the area, but there's been a steady increase due to the rise in industrial activity -- so it's becoming more important for emergency responders to know to handle crashes involving such vehicles.
"The trucks that haul number, the water trucks, in this case here in the background you can see regular tractor trailers, big buses, highway coaches, smaller busses; the idea is how can we stabilize the situation, how can we ensure all of our members of our department are safe, and how can we ensure that the people involved with the crash whether on the bus or on a vehicle or the surrounding area can be safe as well," he explained.
The firefighters -- three of them from Prince Rupert, two from Kitimat and 13 from the host Terrace department -- practiced rescuing people from a variety of vehicle situations.
The final day was "test day" -- where the participants divided up into team, tasked with responding to a scenario in which a small red car had been crushed by a large truck and a bus.
"So there's three teams in the scenario you see behind me -- one was to secure and raise the bus, team two was to secure and raise the white cab of that truck, and team three will be to cut up and extricate the subjects out of the red car," said Jephson.
The training was sponsored by LNG Canada, and external relations advisor Morganne von Schleinitz says programs like this are very important for the region.
"Safety is top of mind for LNG Canada -- and this extends beyond our construction site; community safety is a focus area for our social investment program and we were very excited to get to support the City of Terrace Fire Department to host regional training, to enhance the response capabiities to accidents of all nature in the region," she said.
The training will continue through to 2023.