Brooklyn wins vehicle extraction competition

Brooklyn volunteer firefighters placed first for a second year in a row during this year’s annual Atlantic Canada Vehicle Extrication Competition held in Windsor Aug. 2-3.

Brooklyn Capt. Mike Maynard said it’s a fantastic experience to compete in this event because the team can study the methods of other departments and learn more from them.

“Over the years, we’ve learned how to free people from cars quicker,” Maynard said. “And at the end of the day, when we’re out on the highway, it makes us better at getting victims out safely... people don’t realize the amount of training hours it takes to do this.”

The scenario set for Brooklyn was that a vehicle had hit a jersey barrier, with one victim trapped inside, as a second car had come up against the front driver side of the victim’s hood and a pay loader was up on the trunk along the passenger side, Maynard said. “We cut the roof (using heavy hydraulics and a reciprocating saw) and took the victim out.”

The teams were sequestered prior to a run, as the scenario was setup with the help of the judges and crews involved. The teams have 20 minutes to extract patients from a vehicle.

The hardest part is getting past the jitters, Maynard added. “You’re nervous because you really want to do well … but it’s the same if you get a real call at two in the morning.”

This year, 13 fire departments took part in the Atlantic Canada Vehicle Extrication Competition but only the Brooklyn department will have the opportunity to advance to the National Competition as the overall winners and the team awarded for top safety.

Brett Tetanish and Jessica Murphy of Brooklyn were also recognized during the event as Tetanish won the Top Incident Command Award and Murphy the Top Medic Award.

Event committee chair Jason Cochrane said he was very impressed with the turnout of teams and fan support during the competition. “It’s great for people to watch.”

This reassures the public firefighters are trained well to deal with emergencies, Cochrane said. “Firefighters learn also because not everyone does everything the same… we (the Transportation Emergency Rescue Committee) bank on the whole thing as education.”