Ford Helping Train First Responders

by Jeff Gilbert
WWJ AutoBeat Reporter

The Dearborn Fire Department has some new rescue equipment, and Ford was able to help them test it out.

"We've gone from, basically the jaws of life from 25 or 30 years ago, where we only had one unit for the whole department," said Dearborn Fire Chief Rich Miller. "We've progressed to have four that we've purchased through a grant that we had from FEMA."

Miller's fire and rescue crews were able to use one of those new units to tear apart an F-150 donated by Ford.

This training is important, Miller says, because car companies are constantly using new, high strength materials in vehicles. That material can save lives in an accident. But, if you don't have the right equipment, it can make it harder to rescue people who are trapped.

"The big buzzword is born steel is the newfangled steel they are using," said Miller. "These sets of extraction tools will cut through that."

Ford and other automakers constantly work with first responders, so they know about changes in vehicles.

"Every vehicle's a little bit different," said Todd Fronckowiak, Ford's manager of Government Investigations and Design Analysis Engineering. "The whole vehicle is a system, and the evolution continues. We're always pushing the boundaries."

Over the years, Ford has donated more than 2200 vehicles to first responder training programs.

"That's the point of our program of our program that Ford's had in place for twenty years," said Fronckowiak. "When we have suitable vehicles available, to provide them to first responders, so they get that hands on training that they need."

Ford is also working to help produce a training video that fire and rescue departments can use in their training.

Follow Jeff Gilbert on Twitter @jefferygilbert.