Saving Lives: Strongsville Fire Trains To Cut Through Cars

STRONGSVILLE, OH — As a reporter, I've seen my share of car accidents. I've even seen incredible extractions — when emergency services manages to pull someone out of a mangled vehicle and save their lives. I never expected to find myself donning the heavy gear of a firefighter and training to save lives myself though.

Still, when I saw the Strongsville Fire Department was training on extraction techniques I called the department and asked for details. I only wanted to know what the training was like.

"We try at least once or twice a year to get some vehicles so guys can practice extrication techniques," said Assistant Strongsville Fire Chief AJ Aljabi. He described the setup to me.

Complex accident scenarios are recreated by piling cars and trucks atop one another behind the station. The firefighters then have to use a variety of heavy tools to cut their way through the vehicle. In some cases, the goal is to create a small opening to allow a firefighter or medic to get access to an injured person and to provide aid.

The Strongsville City Schools even donated a school bus to the training efforts. Aljabi said it's good for the firefighters to train on a variety of vehicles and described the school bus as being akin to a "tank."

He paused and then asked — "Do you want to try it?"

I didn't know what to say. But it would be a unique experience, so I went with my gut and said, "Yes."

The next thing I knew, I was on my way to Strongsville Fire Station No. 4.

When I arrived, I saw that the back of Station No. 4 was turned into a makeshift graveyard for totaled vehicles. Smashed up cars were arranged in a corner and firefighters from all shifts and all stations were brought to house No. 4 to train on extraction. Since the city helps oversee the turnpike, it's an important exercise for the crews.

Firefighter Tom Sullivan helps to coordinate the training exercises. He said there's a lot emergency personnel have to stay up-to-date on. Crews practice as much as they can, he added.

"We stacked cars and tried to create more technical scenarios," he said.

Cutting Through a Car

Aljabi arranged for me to suit up and take part in one of the training exercises. Donning the traditional black and yellow jacket, thick pants, suspenders, boots and protective glasses, I waddled cautiously to the back of Station No. 4.

Harry Drennan, a captain and 25-year veteran of the fire department, kindly walked me through what was happening. The pros were going to execute a dashboard pop — an extraction that requires a car's dashboard to be severely lifted (or popped up).

To do this, three cuts would need to be made: one to separate the fender, another to sever the column connecting the roof and side of the car (the windshield had been removed in earlier exercises), and a third to slice the floor. With the connecting supports cut, a motorized jack would then be used to push the dashboard up.

I was going to help do the dashboard pop.

They handed me two hefty tools — one to pinch and open portions of the sheet metal on the car, and another to cut through that metal. About 15 minutes of sweating and embarrassingly struggling to lift heavy cutting equipment followed.

"Just jam that in there — don't be shy," a firefighter told me. So I threw myself behind the cutter and jammed it into a crevice of the car.

The cuts got made. I then watched as the jack was placed near the floor of the car, under the dash, and then activated. The dashboard popped gradually into the air.

I smiled, the joy and relief of a man that had barely helped to accomplish a training task.

Then one of the crew asked if I wanted to help take the roof off the car. It would mean more cutting, more pulling, more yanking, more standing in the sun in the heavy gear.

I smiled politely and declined. Being a firefighter is hard work and the men that do it are tough as nails. I'm more like two-day old cotton candy.

Aljabi and I shook hands afterwards and chatted. He told me that in the winter they may use me in ice rescues. Something to look forward to.

(No photos of me in the gear exist because everyone had put on thick gloves to protect themselves from the glass and torn sheet metal that covered the parking lot ground and wrecked cars.)

Photo and video from Chris Mosby, Patch