Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Alexander Rescue wins the 2011 Technical Rescue Competition




The North Carolina Association of Rescue and EMS held its 55th Annual Rescue Convention on the weekend of September 16th through September 18th, 2011. This year’s convention was held in High Point, N.C. at The Showplace Convention Center. Each year during the convention various competition events are held. Among those include Technical Rescue (Heavy Competition), the Craig Helms Memorial Rescue Challenge Rescue Competition and Basic Life Support (First Aid) Competition. Teams from all across the state compete in the fun and fellowship in an effort to receive the “Top Gun” award. Each year Top Gun status is awarded to the first place teams in each of the events. This year’s competition was unique as for the first time in the history of the competition an “all female team competed”. The team was comprised of six ladies from Alexander Rescue Squad. This group of six young women put in many hours of training for the competition over a six week period. Not to be outdone in the competition, these ladies performed in their skills with pride and when the smoke settled on Friday afternoon, these ladies knew they had a realistic chance of not only placing but winning the competition. At the awards presentation on Saturday night the ladies from Alexander Rescue Squad walked away with top honors and the 2011 Top Gun status in Technical Rescue Competition.

As the teams arrived at the competition site for the Technical Rescue event they were greeted by a semi tractor which had become stuck on a grate. The truck was unable to move in any direction and had to be lifted off the grate. The unique part about the competition was the fact that both ends of the truck had to be raised at the same time. The event was scored based on the team’s accuracy for completing various evolutions for stabilizing the truck, properly placing jacks and air bags for the raise and simultaneously raising both ends of the truck at the same time. Points were also awarded for team and personal safety.

Congratulations for a job well done to Alexander Rescue Squad’s All Female Technical Rescue Team. The 2011 “Top Gun” team members included Trick Lee –Co Captain, Tiffany Getz – Co-Captain, Roxann Byers, Emily Eckard, Haley Millsaps, and Melinda George. Richard Smith served as the team’s training coach.

Other competitions included the Craig Helms Memorial Rescue Challenge event which involved a victim trapped under a “slab” of concrete with a piece of rebar stuck through his upper leg. Team members had to raise and stabilize the concrete,


cut the rebar and remove the victim. After removing the victim team members were required to stabilize the injury and move him to an awaiting ambulance.

Rescue Challenge Team members Jim Nussbaumer and Tiffany Getz competed in this event and were awarded third place for their efforts in this competition.

At the awards presentation, Squad Captain Terry Foxx was installed as the newly elected Vice Commander of the North Carolina Association of Rescue and EMS and presented the 2011 H. Elwood Inscoe Director of the Year Award.

Alexander Rescue Squad is a proud member of the United Way of Alexander County and if you are interested in becoming a member please join us at one of our regular meetings. The Squad meets the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at there base located at 197 Emergency Street, Taylorsville. If you would like more information please email us at 4info_rescue@alexanderrescue.org or contact our base @ 828-632-9410.

Jim Nussbaumer
Public Relations Officer
Alexander Rescue Squad.