SAINT CLAIR - Thirty-five firefighters from throughout Schuylkill County met Saturday morning at the Schuylkill Transportation System garage to learn the best ways of handling incidents involving vehicles of mass transportation.
The training was part of a class sponsored by the county transportation system titled "STS Bus Rescue Awareness."
John Bowman Jr., maintenance manager with STS, said the session touched on various aspects of the fleet that includes 25 cutaway vans, 11 street buses, five Child Development school buses and one mid-size school bus.
"These buses travel through all parts of Schuylkill County on a daily basis and we want them (fire and rescue personnel) to be aware of what to do if there is an accident involving one of these vehicles," he said.
Bowman said information presented included details of the construction of the vehicles, the crucial components and best locations or areas to extricate victims from inside.
Jessie Zimmerman, an Orwigsburg Fire Department assistant chief and Pennsylvania State Fire Academy instructor, said that although there is a low percentage of accidents or incidents involving these buses, being prepared can mean the difference of life and death.
He said car crashes typically involve between one and four patients and cars and SUVs are, for the most part, constructed the same way.
But when buses are involved, the number of victims can climb to as high as 40 and the construction of the larger vehicles lead to difficulty in treating or removing them.
"These can turn into mass casualty incidents with numerous victims that have to be removed quickly and safely," the assistant fire chief said.
Zimmerman said Saturday's session touched on the fuel systems, air systems and hydraulic systems, all unique to larger vehicles.
Although the classes concentrated on STS vehicles, both Zimmerman and state instructor Joseph "Blackie" Kufrovich said the skills will be helpful involving commercial buses that travel on county roads daily.
"Some of the basic principals they are learning here today would be the same for coach or other large buses," Kufrovich said.
Both instructors said the training can be invaluable because it relates to school buses, hundreds of which take to the roads every weekday morning and afternoon.
Participants discussed and learned fire suppression, how to use cribbing for stabilization, design and patient extrication.
On Child Development buses, each seat is equipped with a three point harness unlike normal school buses that do not have seat belts or safety harnesses.
Kufrovich, an instructor for more than three decades, said that aspect was new to him and something he just learned Saturday.
"We were always taught to stabilize the child and remove the child and the seat at one time," he said. "On these buses, the seats are permanent so first responders will have rethink patient care and extrication."
Saint Clair fire Chief Frank Uhrin said the STS garage is located in his department's immediate coverage area, which also includes Route 61, a highly used route for school buses and commercial traffic.
Although Saint Clair firefighters, like many others in Schuylkill County, have taken classes on what to do in the event of incidents involving multiple patients, additional training is never wasted.
"This class just added to our existing training for incidents of mass transportation," he said.