Minnesota Members Portray Structure Collapse Injured

 Minnesota Wing members participated in an emergency rescue exercise with the Minnesota Task Force Urban Search & Rescue Team by portraying victims in a collapsed structure rescue training session.

The search and rescue team consists of firefighters and paramedical personnel from several Twin Cities metro fire departments whose purpose is to provide resources to community first responders in emergencies, particularly collapsed structures and confined space rescue situations.

The seven participating Minnesota Wing members were each provided a card listing their simulated injuries suffered in the structure collapse.

For example, Capt. Randall Knox of the Stanton Composite Squadron simulated injuries to his left shoulder, left torso, and left leg. Cadet Airman 1st Class Tryggve Meyer of the North Hennepin Composite Squadron displayed back and lower extremity paralysis.

The members were then placed in various locations in the collapsed structure. Emergency medical technician teams worked to find them, assess their injuries, provide appropriate medical treatment, and extract them from the rubble.

Meyer, one of the first to be rescued. was strapped to a backboard with his head taped down, pulled out of the wreckage, and placed on a stretcher. He said he enjoyed watching the EMTs work to rescue the other victims.

Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Austin Manthei of the Anoka County Composite Squadron, who had simulated injuries from the waist down, said he was impressed with the exercise’s realism.

Knox, the Stanton squadron’s deputy commander for cadets, was placed in a confined space about 2-by-3-by-3 feet, and the EMT team had to reach him through a tunnel in the rubble. His rescuers lifted him about 2 feet and then extracted him using the same route, all while dealing with his simulated injuries.

“I was really impressed with how realistic the exercise was; the instructors did not make it easy for the EMTs,” Knox said. “ I got to experience something you would see on television. It was definitely a good experience that I would recommend to any CAP member.”

“What better way for CAP to train with emergency response partners before we have to work with them,” said Maj. Tom Fitzhenry, Minnesota Wing director of emergency services.

“For cadets that might be interested in firefighting or rescue, this might just be the spark to ignite their passion.”

 Photos by Maj. Maj. Tom Fitzhenrey, Minnesota Wing