The National Auto Body Council’s First Responder Emergency Extrication (F.R.E.E.) Program came together with Collision Pros, Farmers Insurance and HURST Jaws of Life to demonstrate some of the latest techniques in emergency vehicle extraction to first responders in Loomis, California, according to a press release.
The event was held on May 20 at a local Collision Pros where over 20 first responders from the Higgins Fire Department came to learn the safest ways to rescue drivers in accidents.
Vehicles for the demonstration were donated by Farmers Insurance, with HURST Jaws of Life providing the educational content.
The F.R.E.E. Program seeks to help first responders stay informed on late-model vehicles and the new obstacles they can present, such as high-strength steel, advanced restraint systems and onboard technology, while also offering lessons on how to safely work around alternative fuel vehicles.
“It was great to get the opportunity to work with newer tools and high strength steel,” said Jack Schaefer, a firefighter with the Higgins Fire Department, via the press release. “The new metals react very differently. You have to know how to leverage your cuts to be most efficient. It also just takes more time, and I wasn’t aware how strong they were.”
