(click images for larger view)

This training exercise was chosen to be held at night. It seems like the hardest and most involved incidents always happen under the cover of darkness. This enabled us to give the new recruits a more realistic training atmosphere and also help familiarize their selves with the lighting equipment. The cars are placed in many different positions and vary in the degrees of damage.

We have even used a rescue training mannequin pinned under an overturned car to help train with airbag usage and vehicle stabilization.

Even under relaxed training conditions you can see by this long exposure photograph that an accident scene is a very busy area. The new recruits are trained by certified instructors and helped through the process by the "Dirty Dozen"(members that have been around since dirt).

A combination of hydraulic and hand tools enable the rescuers to give the medic crews as much room as needed to treat and remove the patient safely within the "golden hour."

Training is an ongoing process that is never complete. Cars with new safety features, designs, and metal keep the rescuers seeking knowledge and new equipment for safer and faster patient extrication.