Community Corner
Basking Ridge Cub Scouts View Rescue and Towing Re-enactment
The Bernardsville Fire Co. #1, together with police, emergency medical technicians and the Somerset Hills Towing Co. re-enacted the procedures to safely remove a victim from the scene of an accident.
First-grade Cub Scouts from Pack 451 in Basking Ridge, along with some siblings and friends, put on their hard hats and watched with open mouths as police, firefighters, rescue workers and big trucks from the Somerset Hills Towing Co. showed them how all would cooperate to rescue trapped victims at an accident scene.
With smashed cars being cut open and (fake) victims being pulled out — and a car then lifted in the air by the towing company's giant rescue crane — last Sunday's demonstrtion turned into a Cub Scout trip to remember.
Frank Sanchez of Basking Ridge, one of the managers for Somerset Hills Towing Co's facility off Old Quarry Road in Bernardsville, said the demonstration showed how all the different volunteers and professionals worked together at an accident scene.
Kathy Landadio, a den mother for Pack 451, said the boys were "completely into" the demonstration. She said she brought along her son Kevin, 6, as part of the Tigers Scouts who were invited to the re-enactment, which also served as a practice drill for the emergency rescue workers. Her older son, Bryan, 8, a Wolf Scout, also came along for the trip.
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Landadio said most of the boys are from Mount Prospect School, but others are from other elementary schools in the township. Her own sons attend the Cedar Hill School, she said.
First grader Christopher Dong, another scout, said the non-stop activity (followed by pizza) looked very exciting.
Members of the Bernardsville Volunteer Fire Co. #1, together with Bernardsville police, rescue squad volunteers, and Somerset Hills Towing Co. re-enacted the functions of each organization and the procedures that are followed to safely remove a victim from the scene of an accident.
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Bernardsville Fire Chief Rich Schiavoni talked to the children about some of the equipment used, including hydraulic tools used to cut away crushed cars in order to reach the injured passengers within.
The giant towing crane used was one of only 22 such pieces of equipment in the entire U.S., Sanchez said.
"They did an excellent job — it was very educational," said Scott Diehl of Basking Ridge, whose son, Ray, had come along to watch.
_ Linda Sadlouskos
