The Sundre Fire Department made the top three in both the limited and unlimited challenges of the 2013 Alberta Regional Vehicle Extrication Competition hosted in town on Saturday.
However, Sundre is not advancing on to the next level of the provincial competition.
Each challenge involved a simulated accident scene set up with a live patient that was to be extricated from the vehicle safely in 20 minutes. Each team of six members was locked up for 20 minutes beforehand, while the scene was being set up. When they walked onto the scene, they had to assess the situation and then work to get the patient out, who was actually one of the judges.
Sundre placed third in the unlimited challenge during which firefighters were able to use all tools available, including heavy hydraulic tools. Cold Lake placed first and Calgary placed second.
Sundre placed second in the limited challenge. Firefighters were only able to use hand tools and no power tools. Calgary placed first and Cochrane placed third.
Sundre also won an innovation award for using an innovative technique to remove a pole that was through the car in one of the scenes.
Only five fire departments were able to make it to the competition: Sundre, Calgary, Cochrane, Cold Lake and Athabaska. The team hosting the competition this year cancelled, so four months ago Sundre offered to host it. It was the first time for Sundre to host the competition and it was too short notice for many departments in the region.
For the past four months, members of the Sundre Fire Department collected 35 vehicles and eight pieces of farm machinery for the challenge, all of which were donated.
Judges at the competition came to Sundre from around the world, including Ireland. Firefighters were judged on care for the patient, safety and tools used in the challenge. Each scene was actually set up in a way that the patients could not get out, however Sundre managed to get the patient out during the limited challenge.
“It's like you're walking onto a car wreck,” said Marty Butts, Sundre's fire chief.
Randy Schmitz, chairman of the Alberta Vehicle Extrication Association, said members of the association determine how to set up each scene from a scenario book.
The association brings all the tools for the competition and he said it's meant for Alberta firefighters to gain practice in these types of situations.
“Sundre has been over the top with innovation,” said Schmitz, adding that Sundre has won several innovation awards in previous years.
“It (the competition) gets them in a situation where no matter what happens, they can handle it.”
Sundre firefighters were proud of how they did in the competition and when they got the patient out during the limited challenge, the crowd roared.
“It went off without a hitch; nothing went wrong,” said Kevin Gamble, Sundre's deputy fire chief.
