MassBay Community College and the Ashland Fire Department held a mock rescue and training event for Ashland firefighters and MassBay Automotive Technology students on Monday, Oct. 18, at the MassBay Automotive Technology Center. 

This exercise included a staged car accident scene, with the Ashland Fire Department demonstrating how the Jaws of Life tool is used to extract victims from vehicles during emergencies. MassBay Health Sciences mannequins will serve as the victims in this training.

This event is part of MassBay’s automotive technology curriculum and serves to expand students’ knowledge of the safety aspects of car design and maintenance. Students saw firsthand how and why firefighters cut into a vehicle with the Jaws of Life at specific points and will learn how airbag deployment can affect how first responders’ conduct rescues.

In addition to providing MassBay Automotive Technology students with a deeper understanding of vehicle safety, this drill was an opportunity for the Ashland Fire Department to train their staff on emergency equipment, without having to respond to an actual emergency. The vehicle used in the demonstration was a Dodge Dart, which has been used previously as an educational tool for MassBay students studying in the Chrysler program and was provided to MassBay by the MOPAR CAP program. This car was returned to the MOPAR CAP program following this exercise.

To learn more about at MassBay visitwww.massbay.edu