2006 Stratham VFD Extrication Program Photos
All photos on this page are the property of the Stratham VFD.

Stratham Fire Department members go over the previous scenario and prepare the next with Extrication.Com instructors Terry Salvi and Ron Shaw. 

Extrication.Com instructor stands behind a working chief, Robert Law. All of the Stratham FD personnel, including line and chief officers participated in the hands-on evolutions in Stratham. This re-enforces the concept of how can you know the limitations of your personnel unless you too walk in their shoes.

Members used a Milwaukee 18V cordless metal cutting circular saw with a carbide tipped blade to cut the roof off this sedan. The vehicle was shored using mechanical struts specifically designed for passenger vehicles.

One of the greatest issues we need to overcome in the emergency services is to know when to re-assess the effectiveness of a tool for a given task. And, if there is a need to continue with a task when the work you have completed is sufficient.  Team leaders and the IC need to evaluate the effectiveness of a task since most responders become so involved they loose track of time.

Members are instructed in the proper way to immobilize and stabilize a vehicle in preparation for lifting a passenger vehicle. Two crib stacks are positioned on either side of the lift bags with the starter course of each stack opposed to each other to help maintain constant contact with wedges and the frame as the vehicle ascends or descends with the lift bags.

Over the years while teaching vehicle extrication I have seen airbag failures. One event catastrophically causing the vehicle to suddenly drop onto the cribbing. Another the lift bags popped out from the vehicle. You can see in this photo that we observe a hazard zone in the form of cone 45-degrees from the centerline of the bag extending outward for a distance of 20-feet for these high pressure bags.

By the end of the Stratham program most of the members having taken our program before were ready for more complex scenarios such as this evolution evolving a driver side entrapment with the vehicle on its side.

Part of the Statham training involved an evolution emulating a real life scenario that the department had to respond for a mutual aid assist.

While vehicles inverted appear more involved, they are often easier in terms of extrication.

Vehicles in unusual positions pose stability issues, here the Stratham FD members quickly stabilized this vehicle in place using heavy duty ratchet straps, step blocks, cribbing, wedges and Airshore struts.

NOTE: All photos on this page are the property of the Stratham NH Volunteer Fire Department, permission must be given for reproduction.