Hinsdale Firefighters Slash Cars in Extrication Exercises

Submitted by the Hinsdale Fire Department.

The Western Springs, Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale Fire Departments trained together over the weekend on how to successfully manage and overcome the challenges of complex vehicle crashes.

The training took place at the Hinsdale Public Works facility, which is located behind the Youth Center and Humane Society on Symonds Drive. The scene looked like a Hollywood action movie set, with vehicles piled on top of each in simulated challenges that were based on actual emergency events.

Despite the constant rain and humidity, the training, which started at 8 a.m. on Saturday and ended around 4 p.m. later that afternoon, was a huge success.

Nearly 30 firefighters from the three departments participated in the training, most of whom did so on their own time to gain valuable experience in handling extremely complex situations. On average, the Hinsdale Fire Department responds to nearly 300 road accidents throughout the year. This includes incidents on a three mile stretch of Interstate 294, Illinois Route 34 (Ogden Avenue), Illinois Route 83 and 55th Street in Hinsdale.

Since there are times when all three departments rely on each other for help at complex road accidents, such as additional equipment, more resources and increased manpower; training for these types of situations collaboratively, shares the knowledge with each other.

Learning together not only builds great rapport among the three departments, it significantly increases the chances for swift and safe outcomes in any emergency situation along these stretches of highway.

This weekend’s training was part of a multi-day training program to help firefighters from the three departments become Vehicle Machinery Technicians (VMT), a certificate program designed by the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshall.

Several members of the Hinsdale Fire Department already have their VMT certification and were on hand to provide instruction to the group. The specialty equipment, extrication tools, and vehicles were all donated to the departments for the training.