Hours After Saving Five in Crash, Spencerport Firefighters Return to the Field for Extrication Drills

Spencerport, NY - Just twenty-four hours after cutting five trapped motorists from a violent two-car rollover, Spencerport firefighters were back on the training grounds Tuesday night, running practical drills on advanced vehicle extrication and patient care.

On the evening of September 8, members of the Spencerport Fire District gathered for a scheduled training session focused on hydraulic rescue tools, widely recognized as the "Jaws of Life." Firefighters practiced techniques to displace, shear, and peel vehicle components away from trapped occupants, emphasizing methods that protect patients from additional trauma during mechanical disentanglement.

The session also placed heavy emphasis on structural vehicle stabilization before and during cutting evolutions, ensuring unstable autos resting on their sides or roofs do not shift while medics administer in-vehicle patient stabilization.

Though arranged weeks in advance, the drill carried heightened significance following the major collision on Labor Day at South Union Street and Stony Point Road in Monroe County. During that incident, Spencerport crews put identical extrication protocols into play, simultaneously deploying heavy hydraulic cutters and spreaders across two mangled vehicles to extricate five trapped individuals in under 30 minutes before transferring them to the University of Rochester Medical Center Trauma Center.

District leaders noted that back-to-back operational realities and training scenarios illustrate why continual hands-on drills remain critical, ensuring first responders throughout Monroe County remain sharp and ready for unpredictable highway emergencies.