Community Corner

PHOTOS: WEFAS Extrication Drill

West Essex First Aid Squad volunteers practice rescuing accident victims.

West Essex First Aid Squad volunteers held a mock extrication on a recent Friday night with members of Pack 6 Cub Scouts watching in awe.

The First Aid Squad drill involved taking apart an SUV in order to safely remove mock victims trapped inside. The drill was performed in the WEFAS parking lot off Bloomfield Avenue in West Caldwell. 

First, they used a hydraulic powered Jaws of Life to spread open the vehicle doors. The hydraulic powered Cutter was then used to cut the front vehicle posts while a special saw was used to manually cut the windshield glass. This allowed for the removal of the vehicle's roof.

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The mock patient was placed in a cervical immobilization device to protect his neck and spine from excessive movement. The patient was then removed from the vehicle and placed on a backboard, where he was transferred to the stretcher, immobilized further before being moved to the ambulance.

The is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2012. To learn more about WEFAS, visit www.westessexfas.org.

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