Rescuing people after traffic accidents is one of the main tasks of the fire brigades.
Thanks to the continuous improvement of vehicle designs and techniques by automobile manufacturers, personal injuries have been declining for years, despite the fact that accident frequencies have remained virtually unchanged.
This success can be achieved, among other things, by using high-strength steels in the passenger compartment, which secure the necessary survival space in the event of a traffic accident.
However, the use of state-of-the-art technologies to ensure occupant protection in the event of an impact is causing increasing difficulties for rescue workers during rescue operations:
Conventional hydraulic rescue equipment reaches its performance limits in high-strength passenger compartments. This makes cutting and bending of modern, accident-damaged vehicles difficult or even impossible.
GEDIA has invited the Meinerzhagen fire brigade in order to be able to act correctly and safely in future in the event of accidents and to understand the complexity of high-strength steels.
First, a tour of the plant took place during which the process of manufacturing high-strength body components was presented and explained by GEDIA. In the new training centre some GEDIA employees, who are also part of the voluntary fire brigades Attendorn and Ennest, demonstrated the optimal procedure for car body components in traffic accidents. On site, it was demonstrated in which areas it is possible to cut the components with state-of-the-art hydraulic rescue equipment. The load limits of the tools were exhausted.
Thanks to the educational event, at the end of the day, destroyed components remained and impressed visitors. GEDIA provided the fire brigades in Attendorn and Ennest with test parts and video material for further analysis of the body parts. Due to the already high demand there will be an open day next year on the topic of crash safety for all interested firefighters. Further details will follow shortly.
With this in mind, GEDIA wishes you a crash-resistant Christmas and a good drive into the new year.