We are blessed in Tellico Village to have a highly trained, dedicated and top performing volunteer fire department. Many of us have benefitted personally by the quick response and capable performance of the firefighters and first responders.
Funding support from within Tellico Village helps keep the Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department well equipped for the emergencies they tackle, and at their meeting on June 20, the Kiwanis Club of Tellico Village donated two Rapid Extraction Systems to add to the department’s capabilities. The potential benefit of the donation far exceeds the $170 cost.
Earlier this year, the Kiwanis Club of Tellico Village learned of the recently available RES that was developed to assist firefighters with removing an incapacitated victim from a dangerous situation. Southeast Rescue Technologies of Powell developed and produces the RES, which is compact, light, easy-to-use and designed to withstand high temperatures.
Simply put, it is a specially configured strap with Velcro fastening that can be quickly secured around a victim to give the rescuer significant advantages for pulling a victim to safety in less time and with less effort.
Time is often working against the victim in an emergency. In the case of fires, temperatures rise, smoke increases and the fire spreads with each passing second. Although it hasn’t happened yet in Tellico Village, fire and smoke can overcome and trap a victim in a burning structure.
The rescue effort must be quick, but that can be an exhausting challenge.
“We still extract victims as we did in the days of horse-drawn water wagons,” Frank Bologna, creator of RES, said. “Grab the victim any way we can and hold on with one hand while pulling the victim across the floor. That limits the firefighter to sliding across the floor sideways in a near-sitting position. This method is slow, disorienting, and can quickly drain the strength of the firefighter.”
Thanks to Kiwanis, our fire department now has a timesaving, lifesaving tool to significantly improve their capability of dealing with certain types of rescues.
