Essential tool helps Alberta firefighters in responding to motor vehicle accidents
The timer starts on impact. In those seconds when hoods buckle and windshields shatter, when bodies lunge against seatbelts and airbags, the golden hour begins.
In the world of emergency medicine, the golden hour refers to the concept that a seriously injured patient’s chance of survival is greatest if appropriate medical treatment is administered within 60 minutes of the incident. In the world of first responders, the golden hour is the benchmark for incident response.
This spring, volunteer firefighters in the central Alberta community of New Sarepta have a new tool in the race against the golden hour.
With help from a $10,000 Enbridge Safe Community grant, the New Sarepta Volunteer Firefighter Association has been able to purchase a Holmatro telescopic ram — providing an additional tool in a suite of heavy hydraulic rescue tools used to extract patients from vehicles after serious accidents.
These extraction tools, commonly called the Jaws of Life, include hydraulic pump-powered cutters, spreaders, combination tools, and rams. The ram plays a critical role in the extraction — freeing the patient from the seat.
In a head-on collision, the vehicle motor and dashboard come back and trap the patient.
“We can cut the roof off and pop off the doors . . . but that patient isn’t coming out until we move that dash,” says Roger Anger, chief of the New Sarepta District Fire Station. “We put the ram in the doorframe of the vehicle. Using the hydraulic pump, we can extend the ram and push the dash off the patient.”
Over the years, the department has purchased hydraulic tools piece by piece. Ten years ago, recalls Anger, firefighters used manual tools for vehicle extractions. Reciprocating saws, and four-by-fours cut to size on scene, were some of their main implements. They did the job, but they were slow. When so many things have to align to achieve that golden-hour window, speed is essential.
“Any tool that we can get that helps us get the patient out, and to advanced medical care faster, is definitely an asset,” he says.
Currently, New Sarepta firefighters protect and serve 3,000 district residents, as well as those who travel nearby roads – including Highway 21, which is among the busiest two-lane highways in the province.
Lisa Seeley, a public affairs advisor for Enbridge’s Western Region, met with New Sarepta firefighters in recent months to present a Safe Community cheque.
“It’s so rewarding and humbling,” she says, “to think that a grant that we provided can help first responders in their efforts to save lives.”
