Paratech and Rescue 42 Stabilization Systems Tested Under Realistic Accident Conditions in Kent County

West Greenwich, RI - Firefighters and emergency medical personnel from West Greenwich Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and West Greenwich EMS completed intensive, multi-phase vehicle extrication and stabilization training this week, sharpening advanced rescue proficiencies across Kent County.

The practical evolution, conducted during the week of Wednesday, October 21, 2026, placed operating crews into complex, true-to-life motor vehicle accident evolutions engineered to test heavy structural cutting, advanced stabilization mechanics, and patient handling inside compromised passenger compartments.

In the primary evolution, personnel assigned to Engine 21 collaborated directly with West Greenwich EMS to manage a simulated rollover crash involving a vehicle resting fully on its roof with a heavily trapped driver.

Firefighters stabilized the inverted vehicle using Rescue 42 tension struts, sheared the driver-side door assemblies with hydraulic rescue cutters, and carefully packaged the simulated patient alongside medical responders.

Once the victim was safely removed, personnel expanded the evolution into a complex suspended roof-flap, severing the structural pillars while maintaining the vehicle stabilized off the ground.

Simultaneously, the crew aboard Engine 22 mitigated a separate scenario involving a passenger vehicle resting precariously on its side. Responders deployed Paratech pneumatic rescue struts and secured high-load tiebacks anchored directly to Engine 22 to eliminate shift and rollover hazards.

Once primary stabilization was secured, personnel completed full door removals to open unimpeded interior pathways for patient access and assessment.

Company leadership highlighted that operating through these multi-layer, realistic evolutions ensures that both fire and emergency medical providers across Kent County maintain seamless operational synergy and peak readiness during high-stress entrapment incidents.