The roof of this car was cut off and turned into an impromptu trauma board. Photos: Marnette Meyer

Seven fire-fighters from Cape Town will take part in the World Rescue Challenge in Curitiba in Brazil from 19-23 October.

1000 Contestants from all over the world will be participating. The local “extrication team” as they are called will take part in the Extrication Challenge. In the run-up to the event the men have been training and showing off their skills to other fire-fighters all over the Cape Peninsula. Melkbos.net attended a recent practice session in Ottery.

Arlene Wehr (centre), divisional commander of the Fire and Rescue Service, Blaauwberg District, with the team.

Simulating grim realities
FYI, even watching one of their simulated extrication scenes, which involves a donated car and a volunteer fireman, is frightening as it conveys the grim reality of what the men are faced with on accident scenes. As one of them said, “You have to be physically fit to cut a vehicle (with the Jaws of Life) and not injure the person inside further. You need to be inside the vehicle within three minutes to open up the patient’s airways.”

In order to do their work as quickly as possible the men train as hard as possible. During this one training session they upended cars, broke windscreens and practiced carrying patients on trauma boards which in one case happened to be improvised and at hand: it was the roof of the car that had rolled.

Balancing a car with V-struts.

Different scenarios
The firemen don’t know what sort of scenarios they will be faced with in Curitiba. What they do know is that they will have to do a rapid extraction from a vehicle which will last 10 minutes as well as extractions lasting 20 minutes and 30 minutes. The longer extrications can involve two volunteer patients and two vehicles.

Why do they do it? The answer is so idealistic it has to be true. “There are career fire-fighters and those who are passionate about it. We do it for the love of the job.” Here’s hoping that our boys win!