The Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad (GERS) hosted a Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads (TARS) three-day training session on "Big Rig Rescues" this weekend at the Greene County Fairgrounds.

Rusty Williams, state training coordinator for TARS, said 30 rescue squad members from as far away as Murfreesboro took the class.

The session counted as one continuing education unit for Emergency Medical Technicians seeking to maintain their certification.

Seven instructors were also on hand, in addition to Williams.

"A lot of rescue squad members are EMTs," said Williams, of Newport, a 25-year veteran of rescue squad work. He is captain of the Newport Rescue Squad in addition to being the TARS state training coordinator.

The training session started with four hours of classwork Friday evening, Williams said.

Actual hands-on instruction and practice on "The Anatomy of a Big Rig" took place all day in the back parking lot of the Fairgrounds.

Williams said that area is an excellent setting for such an event, because it is easy to get to, yet private enough not to draw onlookers.

He said the intent of the course is to familiarize rescue squad members with the various potential dangers they may face when trying to remove an accident victim from different types of trucks.

Some rescue squad members are truck mechanics who know a great deal about trucks, he said, but, before taking the course, others may know very little about big trucks.

Knowing more about how a large truck works and is operated gives rescue squad members a better idea of how to extricate an accident victim safely, he said.

Williams explained that, if a cement-mixer turns over, only a relatively small number of bolts and a drive chain connect the mixing "bowl" to the truck chassis, posing a serious hazard for rescuers should the bowl come loose.

Dump trucks with moving beds can also pose an extra hazard that rescue squad members need to be aware of to avoid to prevent a second accident at the wreck scene, he said.

Williams said about 200 rescue squad members across the U.S. die each year while working at accidents, although the vast majority of those deaths occur when a rescue squad member is hit by a passing vehicle.

He said TARS holds a training event somewhere in Tennessee virtually every weekend.

Williams was at a training session in Humboldt in West Tennessee last Saturday, he said, and participated in another training event in Kentucky this past week, along with Kevin "Bucky" Ayers, an officer in the Greeneville squad.

"We stay busy," Williams said, adding that TARS has had a training event every weekend this year except Easter weekend.

He will be conducting the "Big Rig" class again later this month, in Union City on the Mississippi River.

Williams praised the Greeneville rescue squad for providing a good location, plus supplemental equipment and wrecked vehicles. A TARS truck brought a great deal of equipment used for the class.

"The Greeneville squad has done a lot of the groundwork here, and we appreciate it," he said.

Wrecked trucks and cars were provided by J.R. Boles and by Crick Enterprises, both of Greeneville. Wreckers were provided by Lynn Malone Wrecker Service, Casper's Body Shop and Wrecker Service, Lynn Hope Wrecker Service, and Bowers Wrecker Service, all of Greeneville, said Jon Waddell, captain of the GE&RS.

A freight container body was provided by T.E.G. Trucking, and USA Concrete provided a cement-mixer so that students could study and understand its structure and components. The Greeneville rescue squad also furnished lunch on Saturday, Waddell said.

He said the Greeneville squad was glad to host the event, the first it has hosted locally since an advanced extrication class three years ago.

He said four local members were actually taking the class, and two or three, including Ayers, were serving as instructors.