Apocalyptic ...in a good way

THERE’S A DEFINITE TOUCH OF THE POST-APOCALYPTIC to the scene in the worked-out gravel pit to the south of Christchurch. Here, a tanker unit has rolled down a bank and crushed a car, there an ambulance lies on its side. A broken-down tractor unit towing a semi and a jack-knifed B-train are both blocking traffic, while several other wrecks litter the area.

But heavy breakdown/recovery units from several companies as well as the Army (from the nearby Burnham Camp) are on hand and working busily…

For this Saturday has been carefully set up with multiple crash scene simulations, specifically to provide heavy vehicle recovery operators the opportunity to practice techniques on damaged vehicles under challenging, real-world conditions.

Regional fire and ambulance centres have also been invited to hone their own techniques and have responded enthusiastically.

The weekend has been set up by Nigel Hope, a director of Canterbury-based BTRi (Bus Truck Recovery International). He explains the background: “About seven years ago we bought a set of airbags – used to support heavy vehicles as they’re righted after a rollover – from Australia.

“They were the first in the country and our staff had to go overseas to get training in their use. Several other operators here were interested in learning about them, so we set up a sort of training day, using an insurance writeoff semi we’d bought to demonstrate on. That’s how it started, and we’ve run several such demos since.

“What we found, importantly, was these occasions were also welcomed by the people in the heavy recovery sector as an opportunity to get together and share experiences and compare techniques. There was definite interest, and that has led to this weekend.”