USA - Texas

Rescue Experience Texas

An international cooperation resulted in a successful Holmatro Rescue Experience in Fort Worth, Texas. Rescue Consultant Dan Crowbridge joined forces with his Dutch counterpart Rens de Jonge and with people from Holmatro USA and Canada, Metro Fire Apparatus and the Fort Worth Texas Fire Department. The team presented the latest information in rescue and associated medical updates to almost 100 firefighters.

Guest speaker: Dr. Stevens

Dr. Andrew Stevens was invited to kick off the program with a presentation on the latest trending medical practices for first responders. He is a well-credentialed rescue medical expert, who is also part of the IndyCar Safety Team.

Crush Injury Syndrome

The second presentation, given by Holmatro's Pete Fiset, focused on Crush Injury Syndrome (CIS). The information was immediately put to use in the hands-on excersises throughout the afternoon. Attendees utilized air bags, a concrete crusher, cribbing, tools and medical devices in multiple simulations, thus gaining experience in lifting techniques and medical considerations related to CIS.

 
Vehicle Under-run

Dan Crowbridge presented methods for rescuing victims of a car that had crashed under a semi-trailer. This scenario provided rarely practiced experience in the use of many tools, stabilization equipment and PowerShore.

 
Confined Space Rescue

In another area on the training grounds Holmatro's Frank Bondra and Charlie Thompson lead the attendees as they worked their way through a maze of confined tubes, where they had to overcome obstacles and other challenges using a lightweight hand-operated combi tool. 

Rapid/Controlled Patient Release 

The center stage of the event, presented by Rens de Jonge and Dr. Andrew Stevens, was the Rapid/Controlled Patient Release. Participants had to design an extrication plan based on the patient’s medical condition. A variety of tools and techniques were used to extricate the live patient (actor). Rumor has it that he was rescued about two dozen times over the two-day event!