Some 40 firefighters from the Tusculum and Newmansville volunteer fire departments took part Saturday in an eight-hour training session in which they learned to use basic hand tools and hydraulically powered rescue tools to free trapped traffic accident victims from the wreckage of their vehicles.

Marty Shelton, a Greeneville Fire Department lieutenant who is a member of the Tusculum VFD, said the extrication class also involved classroom instruction earlier in the week.

He said that although most Greene County volunteer fire departments don't have hydraulically powered rescue tools, the training class prepared firefighters to stabilize vehicles involved in traffic accidents and then assist Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad volunteers in freeing trapped accident victims.

Shelton also said members of the Washington County-based Limestone VFD brought one of their fire engines, which is equipped with hydraulically powered rescue tools to the training session at the Greeneville Iron & Paper Company facility on Old Stage Road.

The lead instructor was Chris Reed, a fire and rescue equipment sales and service representative with G&C Supply Company of Algood, Tenn.

Reed, in addition to teaching extrication techniques, allowed the firefighters to use Hurst "Jaws of Life" hydraulically powered rescue tools and "Res-Q-Jack" vehicle stabilization struts.

The firefighters spent most of the day learning to use hydraulic rescue tools to remove doors and roofs from damaged vehicles.

The vehicles used in the exercise, Shelton said, had been donated by Greeneville Iron & Paper Co. The vehicles, he said, had been traded to local dealers during the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program earlier this year.

At one point, firefighters learned to use hydraulic rescue tools to free a trapped victim from an overturned vehicle that was resting on its top. The vehicle had been stabilized using "Res-Q-Jack" vehicle stabilization struts.

The struts, which were secured in place using a chain and straps, can be hand-cranked to raise and secure an overturned vehicle, Reed said.

After the overturned car was stabilized, firefighters worked in teams to cut away the front and rear doors of a vehicle in one operation and then used the Jaws of Life to force the vehicle's dash away from the knees of a simulated trapped victim.

They also used the Jaws of Life to cut away the vehicle's roof to make removing accident victims easier for emergency medical personnel.

Earlier in the day, firefighters had focused on using hand tools, such as pry bars, to force open car doors so that trapped victims could be removed.

Reed, who led that exercise, said advancements in hydraulic rescue tools and training have made even such complicated rescues easier and safer than they would have been only a few years ago.

He noted that the original "Jaws of Life" rescue tool was so heavy that it required to rescue personnel to operate it. Now, he said, new hydraulic rescue tools can be operated by a single rescue technician.

Also serving as instructors were Shelton, who formerly was captain of the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad, and B.J. McKay, assistant chief of the Newmansville VFD. McKay also is employed as a rescue technician by Washington County Emergency Medical Services.

Earlier in the day, firefighters had focused on using hand tools, such as pry bars, to force open car doors so that trapped victims could be removed.