Rescue workers highlight accidents at work
The Conway-Severn Rescue Squad held an open day at a school in Conway last week, the Conway Middle school, in order to raise awareness of safety at work.
They also wanted to demonstrate to the children what it was that they do each day in their job, an important and honourable service, rescuing those trapped after accidents have occurred.
Despite lecturing about health and safety, there are a number of accidents in the rescue business each year, simply because of the dangerous situations which these amazingly brave people put themselves in to help others each day.
Captain Mike Davies, heading the rescue squad said that turnout was really good and that adults and children alike appeared willing to learn about the important sevice which these men and women carry out each day.
They were also highly interested in how they could be safer in their everyday lives both at home and at work. Safety is an issue which just simply cannot be overlooked, as even small mistakes could result in death or even industry.
The Conway Severn members were able to witness a number of vehicle extractions carried out by the Roanoke Valley Rescue Squad, making the day a learning experience for all involved.
Whereas the Roanoke Rescue Squad carry out more heavy duty rescues, Conway Severn carry out the more light rescue work, accounting for 90 per cent of all rescue calls.
The day was described as highly beneficial for both rescue squads as they learned a great deal from each other.
The rescue squad has been going for thirty years now, having started in 1978. Captain Davies says that they answered their first call on Labour Day of that year. They were called to an incident involving some young employees.
Soon they moved on to doing vehicle extraction, a very common accident, particularly in workplaces which use heavy duty vehicles. A recent report showed that the most common accidents at work occurred while an employee is using a vehicle.
When the Conway Severn team first started doing vehicle extraction they were using simple hacksaws. Captain Davies remembers it fondly, but welcomes and celebrates the teams graduation onto more sophisticated tools.
They currently use the Hurst tool, which is also commonly referred to as the 'jaws of life' due to its distinctive shape and success at rescuing trapped people.
Following the success of the single Hurst tool which they have acquired, the team have now applied for a government grant in order to purchase another Hurst tool.
Squad member Chris Buffaloe, who is also a police officer, said the experience is invaluable. “We've had 13 accidents since January involving pin-ins. Seven of them have been fatalities. Four of them have been teenagers.”
Updated on 6/30/2008