‘Cutting cars, rescuing people:’ Atlanta firefighters train for national extrication competition

Lori Wilson
·2 min read

For the first time, a team of Atlanta firefighters are taking part in a national competition on how fast they can extricate people from cars after a crash.

The firefighters are currently training so they can save lives after car accidents and crashes, using the competition to learn more ways to keep people safe.

According to Atlanta Fire Rescue Capt. Tyler Mallory, practice drills like these are what allow fire teams more time to get better at cutting cars and rescuing real people.

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“We practice,” Mallory said. “We need to get quick access to the patient and get them out of the car quickly so that we can get them to the hospital.”

The Atlanta firefighters participating in the extrication competition will try out new techniques and equipment to get ready for the competition at the end of the month.

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The team that’s competing will also share what they’ve learned during the training with all local fire stations.

“The whole goal with this is to make everybody an extrication A-Team,” Stephen Martell with the North American Vehicle Rescue Association said.

Martell traveled to Atlanta from Florida to help train the Atlanta fire teams, but he said win or lose, the preparation makes the whole community safer.

“Last year, 47,000 people died in roadway accidents. If we get there and do a better job, an earlier job, we can save more lives,” Martell told Channel 2′s Lori Wilson.

This year is the first time Atlanta Fire Rescue is participating in the NAVRA competition. Atlanta firefighters will compete on May 30 in the National Rescue Challenge, which NAVRA said Atlanta Fire is actually hosting this year, as well.

The competition will run through June 2.

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