Fire crews stage realistic scenario
Valuable training exercise for area’s local teams
East Perthshire-based fire crews staged a training session with a difference recently − and the PA was invited along to capture all the action.
Three Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crews - two from Blairgowrie and one from Coupar Angus - took part in the exercise, which saw them tackle a realistic mock-up of a road traffic collision involving a digger, a van and a car and a number of casualties.
And in keeping with real-life scenarios, the 18 firefighters did not have all the specific details of the incident they were attending when they arrived at the scene.
The set-up took place in cold, dark and wet conditions on a site on the outskirts of Rattray.
A digger had hit a van which had then hit a car, the impact of which had pushed it up a grassy slope.
There were two casualties in the van and three young people in the car with injuries of varying degrees of severity.
The crews used a range of equipment to safely remove the casualties from the scene of the incident, including cutting equipment and vehicle stabilising equipment.
The firefighters, who were all assigned specific roles and responsibilities as they would be in a real incident, also performed ‘first person on the scene’ duties when tending to the casualties, which included practising use of a defibrillator as well as dealing with more minor injuries such as cuts and bruises, and shock.
Alan Stewart, a firefighter based in Blairgowrie, said: “Perth and Kinross is a relatively safe place to live with the number of fires and related injuries at their lowest levels over recent years.
“However, safety remains an important issue for our communities with a wide range of risks being presented in our locality such as road traffic collisions and rescue from rivers, water, floodwater and height to name just some.”
He continued: “There are more
Firefighters - who have all had ‘first person on the scene’training - are routinely called to assist paramedics at medical incidents serious injuries and fatalities on the roads than in fires so this sort of thing makes up the mainstay of our work.
“We have also seen a large increase in supporting other emergency services, in particular ambulance crews, as part of the drive within Scotland to reduce the number of people dying as a result of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
“Every fire engine in Scotland now carries a defibrillator and a number of trials are taking place in different areas where firefighters - who have all had first person on the scene training - are routinely called to assist paramedics at medical incidents.
“This type of exercise is therefore a great experience for firefighting personnel and it is fantastic to be able to do it locally.”
There were observers on site throughout the exercise, all of whom had experience of dealing with these types of scenario, and whose responsibility it was to ensure that it was safe and that nothing went wrong.
They also provided valuable feedback to the officers in charge One of the appliances of the exercise.
Rab Middlemiss is group manager for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
He said: “This was a great effort by the local crews working in very difficult and realistic conditions.
“The way they conducted themselves was typical of the way they serve their local communities to ensure that Perthshire is a safe place to live, work and visit.”
Chris Smith, watch manager at Blairgowrie Fire Station, added: “This type of valuable exercise trains our crews to a high standard and maintains our competence levels to ensure our and the public’s safety.
“We train for road traffic collisions regularly but it is quite unusual for us to have such a realistic scenario.
“Thanks to Robert Smith for the use of the site and to the volunteers who gave up their time to act as casualties for the training session, it is much appreciated.
“Thanks also to all the crews for their professional work ethic and commitment to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.” Firefighters assess the situation