Paratech Virtual Workshop: Trench Advanced

Below is a great advanced trench presentation by leading industry experts. It kicks off with Paratech’s Nigel Letherby followed by MUSAR’s Chief Ron Zawlocki and professional civil engineer Craig Dashner. Craig works closely with Chief Zawlocki to bring the fire service real world knowledge to keep everyone on scene safe. Below is a description off his Linkedin profile of some of the work that he does with the fire service.

 I also volunteer my time working with a Ron Zawloki, a Fire Department Instructor, on the development and refinement of Trench Rescue Shoring Standards. So much of what has been taught to the fire service throughout the years was never reviewed by an Engineer, or was poorly designed, and much of it is a false sense of security and down right dangerous. Working with Ron, we are developing shoring systems that can be deployed rapidly, be flexible to different conditions and provide adequate safety for the victim and rescuers.

Make sure you checkout the full list of different videos available on the Paratech YouTube channel.

Automobile into a Building

Take a look at the vehicle into a building in the Mile High City of Denver.  The Denver Fire Department posted a recent run on their Facebook Page where a vehicle crashed into in a building.  That building required shoring with Paratech struts.

Tree into house Rescue

The statement below was posted on the Puget Sound Fire Facebook page. The event took place on the morning of February 23rd, 2020. This type of incident could happen anywhere at any time.  Pay close attention to the number of rescue units required to bring enough resources.

Units were dispatched with King County Medic One to an aid call for a tree that had fallen into a house and trapped the reporting party in the 22200 block of 196 Ave SE in unincorporated King County/Fire Dist. 43. First arriving crews found the patient trapped under a large tree that had fallen thru the middle of a six-unit two story apartment building. The tree was thru the second story and had pinned a man in his 60’s who had been sleeping on his couch in the living room. The patient was conscious and pinned across the torso area.

Due to the nature of the call and the complexity of the extrication a Zone 3 (South King County) rescue response was requested to bring specialized equipment and trained technicians to the incident. Seattle Fire Department was also requested to provide additional rescue resources.

The patient was treated in place while the tree and structure were stabilized. The patient was able to be extricated from underneath the tree and was transported by Medic One in critical but stable condition approx. one hour and 40 minutes after the initial dispatch.

Unique incidents like this require a large response to gather the resources necessary. Multiple agencies respond together to provide the best response to the community. In this incident a total of 14 units responded including Puget Sound Fire, South King Fire and Rescue, King County Fire Dis 2, Seattle Fire, King County Medic One, and Zone 3 fire rehab.