Article by Sandra Rutkowski ’17:
On Saturday, twenty-eight Kellenberg students training to become EMT’s traveled to the Nassau County EMS Academy to take part in an extrication training class. The day started off by being taught the basics of extrication and how to help free somebody if they were ever to be trapped in their vehicle. Each of us had the opportunity to use devices to stabilize a car, take air out of the tires, shatter the windows, and even take a crushed door and open it using a hydraulic tool. Being able to be hands on and learn how to use the different tools gave each and every one of us some experience and knowledge of how to perform and put our skills to the test in a real-life emergency.
Teamwork, safety, and communication are vital skills an EMT must use in order to save a person’s life. In the second part of our class, we were given a mass casualty incident scenario on a train where injured patients were to be triaged, treated, and brought to safety by us students. This situation taught us how to not only manage our time, but use our life-saving skills that we had acquired over the course of the six months of training in EMT class as well. I, along with my classmates, learned how important time management and communication with my team is. By working together as a team, we were able to successfully accomplish getting all of the patients out of the train safely. We were put to the test in a stressful situation and were able to learn so much with each passing hour that we spent at the academy. My classmates and I are thankful for all the patience and time Mr. Ditrano and Mrs. Loeber have invested into training the EMT class. Without them, we would not be on our way to becoming EMT’s.