Firefighters train in real-life exercise (+video)

A joint training exercise run by the New Zealand Fire Service and St John is preparing new recruits for real-world emergencies.

A scenario was played out at the Fire Service's national training centre in Rotorua yesterday for trainee firefighters.

The exercise involved a train-versus-two-cars crash with multiple patients.

The "patients" had multiple injuries of varying levels of seriousness and the trainees had to work to free them from the vehicles.

New Zealand Fire Service senior trainer Mike Thomson said the exercise allowed recruits to do practical training before joining the workforce.

"Having this national training centre is a real asset for us as it gives recruits a chance to appreciate what they will be faced with in the real world.

"It helps the recruits develop their teamwork, decision-making and response times. It's all about putting into practice the skills they have been learning over the last 11 weeks."

St John clinical support officer Adam Rayner said the hands-on training was "absolutely critical" for new recruits.

"After the scenario we will debrief the trainees and talk to them about what went well and what could be done better - this is the place for them to make mistakes and see how to improve.

"We get actors in so it's not like the people are smiling and chatting away, they become less responsive the longer it takes to get them treated, they are swearing, screaming and crying as real patients do in these situations."

Trainee Bryce Miller said the exercise was an eye-opener.

"You see emergency scenes on movies and TV shows so this training scenario wasn't too shocking for me but it goes a long way to preparing us for the real world.

"Being a firefighter was a childhood dream of mine and taking part in this experience is a good way to learn a bit more about what we can expect when we finish our training."

- To see video of the scenario being played out, go to www.dailypost.co.nz.