Southold FD Firefighters and EMTs displayed their skills and experience to Suffolk County Fire Academy Instructors as they aced the Advanced Extrication Drill on Tuesday 6/21. Scene size-up, locating victims, tool utilization, safety precautions and scene management were only some of the skills lauded by the instructors. There were some equipment deficiencies noted but these were more than overcome by ingenuity, resourcefulness and experience. The instructors were impressed by the teamwork displayed by all the participants during the 40 minutes it took to find one displaced victim and extricate two others from a real-life scenario used as a training exercise.

Training scenarios such as these are an integral part of SFD training and proficiency, both at in-house training and at SCFA. Without these training scenarios and real-life experiences, as witnessed by the timely extrication of the car vs. pole MVA on Sunday on Rt.48, response and extrication times might be much slower.