Firefighters from across the county took part in a group training session this past weekend. The training focused on vehicle extrication techniques, removing parts of a vehicle that has trapped a person after a crash, with an emphasis on heavy vehicles.
The fire districts of Tillamook, Nehalem Bay, Nestucca, Garibaldi, Rockaway Beach and Netarts sent crews to the training session. A training on that scale hasn’t happened for more than 20 years by one account. It was made possible by a $10,000 grant from the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training that was awarded to the Tillamook Fire Defense Board.
The grant covered the cost for three specialized instructors to certify 30 firefighters in the extrication techniques and give each district some knowledge on working the scenes of low frequency, high risk incidents that could occur on the coastal corridor, such as a car pinned under a semitrailer or crushed by a log truck.