Volunteer firefighters trained in heavy lifting

Volunteer firefighters from five companies gathered in Darien today for some specialized training in dealing with big, heavy vehicles involved in accidents.

"We want these guys to know they can do this," said Jason Graber, who was leading the training session. "We want them to come into a situation like this and know it's not hopeless. They have the right tools and the right training."

Three different accident scenarios were set up -- a tractor-trailer with a sedan wedged under it, a cement mixer stuck on a cement barrier and a passenger car that has slid under the back of a school bus.

The firefighters -- from Indian Falls, Darien, Corfu, East Pembroke and Alabama -- were shown what their options were in each situation, what tools they might use to deal with the situation and then given a chance to use the tools the way they might in a real accident.

In most cases, the first thing responders need to do is get the bigger vehicle stabilized so emergency workers can rescue any victims that are trapped.

"It's a system of making sure that everything we do first makes everything safe for the rest of the process," said Graber, who is a former Darien volunteer and now lives in Virginia where he works for the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority and volunteers for the Leesburg Fire Department.