Members of the Mathews Volunteer Fire Department gathered at the Lewis brothers’ farm in Dutton on Sunday for vehicle extrication training.

Even though the MVFD is a fire department, a majority of its calls involve automobile accidents. Some of those crashes involve cars in unstable positions and occupants that are trapped in the vehicle. These situations demand rapid but measured action, a release stated, as firefighters must balance the urgency of the situation while insuring that no further harm comes to those involved in the accident. 

Sunday’s training was divided into three sessions, starting with a classroom session and a slide presentation that covered all aspects of vehicle extraction. Members then went out in the field and practiced stabilizing automobiles on both their side and roof using every tool in the toolbox. All the firefighters got this hands-on training. 

After a short lunch break, the firefighters returned to the field to practice ext...