Oglethorpe County Fire Rescue, in cooperation with Oglethorpe County EMS, participated in the Georgia Emergency Medical Services Association (GEMSA) “Farm Medic & Machine Extrication,” a 16-hour continuing education training held on April 17th and 18th, 2021. Personnel from Beaverdam VFD, Devils Pond VFD, and Sandy Cross VFD all representing Oglethorpe County Fire Rescue (OCFR) participated in this training alongside EMTs and Paramedics from Oglethorpe County EMS, Salem VFD, and Arnoldsville VFD. This two-day training event consisted of both classroom and hands-on (skills) training. Personnel participated in four different scenarios as a part of their skills training. These scenarios included: grain-bin extrication, heavy machinery extrication, auger entrapment extrication, and farm implement extrication.
This training focused on a single concept: “Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in America.” Every year needless injuries and deaths occur to farmers, family members, farm employees, and even rescue personnel. This training prepared local rescue personnel with the knowledge of the nature of farm machinery and provided those in attendance with rescue techniques to save lives safely and efficiently. The idea for this class was that “Training and education in the methods of farm/rural rescue are essential for proper response and safety of the rescuer and patient.”
We hope to never have to respond to this type of emergency, but if we do, we will be ready.
OCFR would like to thank GEMSA and Oglethorpe County EMS for their roles in making this training available to the rescue personnel of Oglethorpe County.