The Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company is proud to announce that Lieutenants Michael Knowles and Patrick Mumford, and Firefighters Austin Fannin and Jessica Shoemaker have successfully completed the Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute’s (MFRI) Rescue Technician – Vehicle and Machinery Extrication course.

The program was begun at the MFRI Lower Eastern Shore Regional Training Center in Princess Anne, MD on 9 January 2023 and entailed 27 hours of classroom and practical instruction. This program is designed to familiarize the firefighter/rescuer with the variety of vehicles commonly encountered at motor vehicle crashes as well as the tools traditionally carried on today’s fire apparatus utilized to extricate crash victims.  Machinery, including farm equipment, is also a topic included in this program.

Major topics covered in this course include planning for a vehicle or machinery rescue incident, performing ongoing incident size-up, establishing scene safety zones, establishing fire protection, stabilizing vehicles or machines, isolating potentially harmful energy sources, determining access and egress points, creating access and egress openings, disentangling victims, removing packaged victims, and terminating vehicle or machinery rescue incidents.

Congratulations folks! – Keep up the GREAT work! – Remember: EVERY day is a training day!