Livonia and Posey VFDs join Salem Wrecker in joint accident training

The Livonia and Posey Volunteer Fire Departments (VFD) recently joined forces with the Salem Wrecker Service to complete a training scenario involving a vehicle that had crashed into the back of a semi trailer. The scenario was intended to help the emergency responders become faster and better prepared for tragic events such as this.

The training took place in the parking lot next to Huckster’s Hall Flea Market at 210 West Mulberry Street, Salem. Here, the crew gathered with fire and wrecker trucks as well as several sets of “Jaws of Life” in hand to extract the test dummy sitting inside the crumpled car.

The crew gathered at around 7:00 pm on the night of the training to set the scene and prepare to begin the rescue.

“We have done training like this many times before,” said Sean Ratts, owner of the Salem Wrecker Service. “We got certified and everything like that, and we’re actually the only wrecker service in Washington County that’s certified… And, we’re actually the only wrecker service in the county with a rotator. That’s a big reason why a lot of fire departments are wanting to start training with us.”

Ratts explained that the boom arm on the 50 ton sliding rotator can do a complete 360 degree rotation. He stated that it really is not used as a tow truck due to the weight of the equipment.

“It’s more of a recovery or rescue unit more than anything,” he said. “If it’s a truck or trailer overturned or something like that, we’ll get the rotator out. In one instance, we had a car that was sitting in a deep creek, so we got the rotator out to lift it up as opposed to dragging it up the side of the bank. Our rotator can pretty much handle anything that can legally be driven on a road.

“I enjoy doing stuff like this, and I enjoy helping,” added Ratts. “This is an excellent way for us to cross-train with the fire departments. And the thing is, you can train everyday, and the next scenario will be something completely different. I’ve been all the way to Carmel, Indiana, Camby, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, and Bloomington, Indiana for training. I’ll go wherever I can to get hands-on training.”

When an accident happens, the local fire departments and the wrecker companies work very closely with one another on the scene. Posey and Livonia Volunteer Firefighter Darren Byler explained that good cooperation and a solid relationship between firefighters and the wrecker crew is crucial because it saves time, which ultimately can save lives.

“One thing that I understand very well from being with a small, rural volunteer department is that we can do more together,” said Byler. “If we just say, ‘hey, we don’t need your help,’ we’ll end up causing more harm and not having proper patient care all because of ego. I am absolutely opposed to that idea. I feel like the more resources we can bring together, the better we can do the job. Everybody wins.

“I’ve been in contact with Sean Ratts from the Salem Wrecker for quite a while about cross-training,” he added. “He has told us that Salem Wrecker can help stabilize vehicles and things of that nature. Things that I was not aware that they would do for us. So, we got our heads together and said, ‘hey, let’s set a date and do this.’ The incident portrayed tonight is actually something they’ve been seeing on the highways. Distracted drivers have been driving up underneath these school buses, box trucks and semi trailers, so that’s what we decided to do this evening.

“We learned to work together,” continued Byler. “It’s not about, ‘I’m Livonia, and you’re the wrecker service,’ or ‘I’m Posey, and you’re Livonia blah, blah, blah.’ We leave the politics out of it. We’re here for patient care. It takes a lot of guys and a lot of resources to work an incident like this. You see that the amount of cribbing (vehicle stabilization) that we have runs out quickly on a call like this. And then to have the resources to lift up the trailer and pull the car out. It’s just not practical for a fire department to have all of those resources without reaching out for other help. Like I said in the beginning, together we’re stronger, and we can give our communities better care. That’s really what it boils down to. We’ve worked with Salem Wrecker on quite a few calls, but it has never been this integrated. We are a team. We are a family. We’re all here to help the patient.”

Byler concluded by saying that he hopes to see more departments partake in cross-training exercises as well.

“I would love to see other departments do what we’re doing and work together. Ask for help from other resources because we can get it done faster and better utilizing everybody in our field. We’re too small of a community to be isolated from each other. Volunteer firefighters are very hard to come by, so there may be a small response from one department from time to time. We have to learn to work together to do the best we can for our community.”

This cross-training exercise underscored a shared commitment to keeping Washington County as safe as possible and as efficiently as possible. By coming together for training exercises such as this, each department is able to witness first-hand the resources available when they open up to outside assistance. Cooperation is essential to achieve the best outcome possible, and that was more than clear as Posey VFD, Livonia VFD, and the Salem Wrecker Service came together to learn how to better ensure the safety of Washington County.

Enjoy more photos from the training below.