GOSHEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Goshen Township Fire & EMS has wrapped up a three-day heavy rescue training program that pushed members and crews from neighboring departments through vehicle extrication drills in temperatures that topped 100 degrees.
The department said in a Facebook post that its members and mutual-aid partners persevered through the heat to complete the training, which included drills on wrecked vehicles, a decommissioned school bus and a training container set up to simulate confined-space rescues. Firefighters from Loveland-Symmes Fire Department, Miami Township Fire & EMS and Hamilton Township Fire Rescue joined Goshen crews for the exercises, the department said.
Heavy rescue training focuses on the tools and techniques firefighters need to free people trapped in wrecked vehicles, collapsed structures or other complex entrapments, using hydraulic spreaders, cutters and rams to pry apart metal and stabilize unstable loads. The three-day format allows crews from multiple departments to train together on scenarios they may respond to jointly in a real emergency.
The department thanked the Patel family, Phoenix Industries, City Service, Soras Towing, Dacotas Towing, Day Heights Towing, Englewood Towing and Vogelpohl Fire Equipment for supporting the training, along with Holmatro, a Dutch manufacturer of the hydraulic extrication tools used by fire departments nationwide to cut and spread wrecked vehicles during rescues. The Goshen Township Service Department and the township’s board of trustees also provided support, the department said.
Goshen Township Fire & EMS operates two stations covering the township. Station 18, the department’s headquarters on state Route 28, was rebuilt after an EF2 tornado damaged it in July 2022 and reopened this past May. Station 19 sits on Oakland Road. The department is led by Fire Chief Edward Myers, with Deputy Chief Kevin Lynch overseeing training operations, according to the township’s website.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Goshen Township Fire & EMS.