The firefighters at CFB/ASU Wainwright have a new rescue tool at their disposal.
With the increased use of armoured vehicles at home and abroad, it was only a matter of time before these vehicles were involved in road accidents and increased insurgent attacks. The problem facing firefighters was how to gain access to these vehicles and extricate the occupants if they couldn’t escape on their own. The armour plating and combat locks on these vehicles opened up a whole new world of vehicle extrication, one where some of the conventional methods wouldn’t work.
Enter the Broco Prime Cut Recovery and Rescue torch. Operating at a temperature of 5538°C, the torch can cut through the thickest of steel in a matter of seconds, allowing firefighters to cut off hinges or hatch handles on the toughest of vehicles and access the vehicle occupants. Portable and lightweight, the torch can be carried to any rescue scene.
With this torch in firefighters’ hands, the next challenge was getting the occupants out. The firefighters were already trained in normal vehicle extrication and confined space rescue, so they combined these two and added specialized training in armoured vehicle extrication techniques. Identifying various armoured vehicles was also included in this phase of training.
The training is done in conjunction with the CF fire marshall and DND agencies on other bases. The trials were done in Petawawa, Valcartier and Montréal. Wainwright firefighters Bill Lawson and Brian Goodwin joined the trials in Montréal and are now tasked with training the fire crews in Wainwright. After that, instruction will be provided for military firefighters who are deployed overseas, and will then be offered to other firefighters at various bases throughout Canada.
The personnel who drive and ride in these armoured vehicles obviously hope they’ll never have to put their Broco to work. If an incident does occur, however, they can be certain that they are in good hands.
Source: Brian Goodwin, The Maple Leaf
