Photo Rodney Lock - VOLUNTEER members of the Lions Bay fire department worked out a mock crash scenario recently to draw _attention to the dangers of automobile collisions on the Sea to Sky Highway. “i Whatever your cooking skills, it's . “easy to spice up your kitchen. From as little as $25 a month; the. BC Gas 7 Inc. Homeworks® Financing Pian. can: ‘help you get the shiny new range or cooktop you ook ‘ want, today. Thousands of British Columbians have taken advantage of Bhs F UNANEIIN affordable way to satisfy their ‘appetite for new major appliances. You ‘can too! And naturally, to keep you cookin; everything you finance is quality-assured by Homeworks? WB Yes, you can have it now. Call today for authorized dealers on thé North Shore. 895-3570. ‘BARBEQUES * FURNACES HOT TUBS Friday, May 29, 1998 — North Shore News — 15 Lions Bay Fire Depi. save lives on Sea-to-Sky Contributing Writer THE scene was grue- some. A white-faced young. girl with severe head injuries jolled behind the steering wheel of a badly crushed sedan. Af unconscious young man Jay in the driver’s scat of another car, welded to the first in the terrible aitermath of a high-speed head-on collision. This was the scene May 24 as the rwo young victims lay stunned and barely conscious, lives hanging by a thread near Lions Bay on Highway 99. However, unlike the many travelers who fall victim each year to head-on collisions on the Sea to Sky Highway, these young people were not des- tined for hospital. They were, instead, actors in an claborate auto extrica- tion exercise staged by the Lions Bay Fire Department. The demonstration was_ designed to show the public the logistics of extricating injured people from «the crushed remains of their vehi- cles after serious accidents. It is a delicate process, requiring © intensive training and is per- formed by the Lions Bay Fire Department 60 or 70 times a year along a 20-kilometre stretch of ‘Highway 99. ’ When the firefighters arrive on the scene of an accident, their first priority is to ensure at the scene is safe enough to attempt a rescuc. The vehicles are stabilized in order to. prevent further injury to the people inside and to reduce the chances of res- cuer injury. Once the vehicles are stabilized and the officer in charge has determined that there is no imminent chance of a vehicle fire, the heavy equipment: is brought in to cut the injured out of the vehicles. The hydraulic extrac- tion cools allow the firefight- ers to cut off the roof or the doors to allow the safest access to the injured. In Sunday’s simulation, it rook eight firefighters and two ambulance attendants about 20 minutes to remove cach victim from the crushed vehi- cles, immobilize them against . first further injury and Joad them into ambulances. Chief Andre Berard notes that the first hour after severe collision is important to the survival of the injured. “It’s called the gofden hour. If we can get the injured individuals safely out of the vehicles and to the hospital within chat hour, it dramatically increases the chance of survival.” Ambulance attendant Brian Coston agrees, “When people experience a severe car accident, their bodies respond on a cellular Ievel by going into shock. The golden hour is the time frame that makes the difference between poten- tial patient stabilization and the possibility of the ‘develop- ment of an irreversible shock from which they may nor recover.” The 18 Lions Bay firetight- ers, all ‘volunteers, mect Wednesday nights to ‘train to prepare for these all-too-com- mon events. They complete training courses such ‘as the responders’ program, allowing them to asséss, an accident scene and begin. the “complex process of. safely transporting the injured to hospital. “For the last six months of 1997 we focused primarily on auto extrication work and sig: | nificandy improved .our level © of proficier;cy”’ said Berard. : “We are now focusing on our medical skills through the’ provincial first responders pro-. me” Mayor. Brenda Broughton has called attention to Lions- ~ Bay Village council’s concerns. about the highway recently. Broughton calls for every driver to drive defensively on the Sea to. Sky. She suggests. thar drivers need to develop’ an understanding : that ‘the, road is shared. with oncoming . traffic and an awareness of dri- ver fatigue level... Driving in the. right: nvo-thirds of the | lane gives: cach driver more. space and perhaps thar. smatl” instant of time to allow’ the. driver to avoid an oncoming vehicle. . Meanwhile, the. Lions Bay Fire Department continues to. fulfill its mandate of a quick, - ° safe response to those highway ” travelers i in n need of their help: 2 Aids. in joint and connective tissue healing. - —4] PURE GLUCOSAMINE Real SULFATE 500mg EL COSAMINE + SURE STE SALE Fare: Helps relieve stress. .. and anxiety ; KAVA KAVA EXTRACT 300 mg. 1929 ‘Lonsdale-Ave., North Vancouver 2470 ‘Marine Drive, West “Vancouver 2635 West 4th Avenue; Nancow : 922-0433° "733-5210