Vehicle Extrication
One of Dalmeny Fire and Rescue’s core competencies is motor vehicle extrication. Our response area includes many miles of rural roads, secondary highways and a stretch of Highway 16, making MVC (Motor Vehicle Collision) responses a large portion of our call volume. As in most areas, technology is constantly improving vehicle safety, and as such, Dalmeny Fire and Rescue has made a concerted effort to research, train, and adapt as vehicle safety technology can drastically change how we remove patients from their vehicles.
Perhaps one of the most significant changes was the inclusion of supplemental restraint systems or airbags – this has changed how rescuers operate inside the automobile during extrication operations. Disconnecting the batteries to reduce the chance of an accidental airbag deployment has become a priority. More recent challenges include the use of High-tensile steel and boron metals within the vehicles structure which can force rescuers to use different tools and strategies to remove patients from newer vehicles.
Equipment routinely utilized during vehicle extrication responses include simple hand tools, heavy hydraulic tools (“jaws of life”), cribbing, and Tele-struts. A recent addition to the roster is the use of high pressure airbags (or lift bags) that assist us to quickly stabilize the vehicle and remove patients.
LUSAR (Light Urban Search and Rescue)
Tornadoes, heavy snow, gas explosions, fire, flood – what do these have in common? All are real threats in our part of the world, and all can cause buildings to collapse, sometimes with disastrous consequences.
Dalmeny Fire and Rescue has partnered with the North Corman Park Fire Departments to form a Light Urban Search and Rescue (LUSAR) team. This LUSAR team is trained to evaluate, search, and perform rescues in collapsed wood frame and light steel construction buildings.
The members of the LUSAR team have taken specialized training in building construction, lifting and moving debris, search methods, breaching and tunnelling, technical rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, patient management, and hazardous materials. This training, as well as the availability of specialized equipment from each department, gives the LUSAR team the ability to respond to many types of collapse emergencies.
Ground Search & Rescue
SAR (Search and Rescue) is the search for, and provision of aid to, people who are in distress, lost or imminent danger. North Corman Park Search & Rescue is a group of unpaid professionals who volunteer their time for training, search missions, preventative information & public awareness. We train and maintain high standards of search practices as set by a committee comprised of SARSAV, RCMP, Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and other partners.