On Oct. 26-27, the Putnam County Fire Department hosted Crash Victim Extrication 1, a two-day training course delivered by the Georgia Fire Academy. The comprehensive 16-hour course focused on training fire personnel to respond effectively to motor vehicle crashes involving trapped motorists.
Firefighters from both the Putnam County Fire Department and the City of Eatonton Fire Department participated, with instructions provided by Fire Chief Brian Meadows and Assistant Chief David Bostwick. The training combined classroom lectures with practical exercises in simulated automobile incidents, allowing firefighter students to apply newly learned real-world skills.
Among the topics addressed were incident command systems, accident scene analysis, vehicle construction, airbag safety, extrication tools, passenger disentanglement and removal, and responder safety. The first day of the course focused on classroom instruction. In contrast, the second day shifted to hands-on practice in the field, utilizing extrication equipment to cover safety protocols and best practices.
Generous donations from Hubert’s Mechanical & Wrecker Service, Charlie’s Wrecker Service, and Taylor’s Wrecker Service provided six vehicles for the field training, which took place at Hubert’s Mechanical at the north end of Eatonton.