FIRE SERVICE RELATED
C & W. Commercials
Truck firm offers
cutting-edge
training to West
Midlands Fire and
Rescue Crews
RESCUE service crews from Wednesbury and Bicken
Hill in the West Midlands enjoyed a training day with a
difference today , as they made the most of a cutting-edge
opportunity.
Commercial vehicle sales specialists C&W Commercials
Ltd, from Wednesbury, opened their Western Way site to the
crews after donating a used vehicle on which they could
practise their rescue skills
Darren Garland, Sales Manager for C&W, said: “It was a
full training day with the crews working on each side of
the truck. I was able to watch the whole thing and it was
fascinating: they approached it as if it was a real accident
with casualties trapped inside, so they had to go through the
whole procedure, making sure it was fully stabilised, making
the area as safe as possible, then finding the best points to
cut the truck to make holes to get the casualties out.
“At each point there were discussion about best practice,
and I was impressed by the way the 10 crew members
worked as a team while looking at the situation from the
points of view of everyone else involved, including the
casualties and the other emergency services.”
He continued: “They used every bit of equipment on their
vehicles including a heavy duty jigsaw and a cutter with
massive ‘jaws’, and there’s not much of the vehicle left now!”
Michael Howard, Crew Commander at the Wednesbury unit,
commented: “It was a great day and we got a lot done.
Together the Wednesbury and Bicken Hill crews comprise
the Technical Rescue Unit for the West Midlands so practising
together was really useful, both in terms of using all the gear
and in working as a unit. “
He added: “We’re very grateful to C&W for giving us this
fantastic opportunity, and we’re delighted that they’ve said
we’re welcome to use their yard for any training we want to
carry out.”
Darren added: “C&W Commercials is just a stone’s throw
from the Wednesbury station, so we were glad to get
involved and offer our emergency services this training
opportunity. Next time we have a truck that’s reached the
end of its working life, we’ll be in touch with the local station
again to help them keep their rescue skills at the cutting
edge.”
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