IN 2004-2005, emergency rescue crews in Western Australia extricated 503 people from vehicles involed in road crashes. 

The majority of those rescues were performed by especially trained Fire and Rescue Service firefighters.  However, volunteers from State Emergency Service units and Volunteer Emergency Service units also undertake this role in designated areas.

Extricating occupants from wreckages is only half the challenge facing road accident rescuers. Preparation can be very involved and is crucial to the outcome. Before rescuers can begin extricating the occupants, they may need to:

• secure the accident scene (for example, control fuel spills, remove any threats posed by live electrical wires and general road traffic as well as guard against any source of ignition)
• if there are no ambulance officers in attendance, apply first aid to the patient – such as arresting blood loss or applying cardio-pulmonary resuscitation or expired air resuscitation
• stabilise the vehicle, especially if it is in a precarious position
• identify hazards that could impede vehicle dissection, such as air bags and hydraulic struts. This task can be complicated by the fact that late model imported cars can have up to 121 parts classed as hazardous to rescuers. 

In conjunction with attendant ambulance officers, road crash rescue crews then decide on the quickest and most efficient way to extricate a vehicle’s occupants. This will vary depending on the condition of the patients, the severity of the collision and any hazards that have been identified.

The road crash rescue crew’s role continues until the occupant has been removed from the vehicle and placed in the care of ambulance officers. If a patient is in the car and has suffered broken bones, rescuers will assist medicos to immobilise the patient.