Published: Monday, November 15, 2010
High-tech dummies teach Everett firefighters life-saving skills
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Dan Bates / The Herald
At Everett Fire Station 5, firefighters and paramedics Travis Gamm (left), Richard Smith, Mike Lande and Stan Brown train with high-tech dummies and monitoring devices that help save lives.
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Dan Bates / The Herald
At Everett Fire Station 5, paramedic Travis Gamm explains the training program that involves sophisticated dummies like the SimBaby.
EVERETT — Travis Gamm ran his finger lightly over the man's throat. He pushed on the Adam's apple, feeling for the right place to slit open. He peeled back the top layers of the throat — and bingo, there was the spot.
The man on the ground didn't mind.
He's the SimMan, a high-tech dummy used by the Everett Fire Department to practice responding to unusual medical emergencies.
Gamm, an Everett firefighter paramedic, is a bit of a CPR and life-saving guru, his coworkers said. He runs drills on the SimMan and his 3-month-old counterpart, the SimBaby, for about 180 Everett emergency responders a year.
The dummies are stored at Fire Station 5 at Madison Street and Beverly Boulevard.
“This is as close to living tissue as we can come up with right now,” Gamm said Friday.
The high-stress simulations build muscle memory that kicks in during adrenaline-fueled rescues, said Joe Paterniti, a firefighter paramedic and medical services officer.
Firefighters from around Snohomish County have stopped by for their own SimMan training, he said.
The city of Everett purchased SimMan and the SimBaby in 2006 so the firefighters can stay up-to-date with national CPR standards, Gamm said. They can be hooked up to heart rhythm generators that Gamm can manipulate to mimic emergency simulations.
The SimMan recently needed about $1,555 in surgery. His arm was torn up and tattered from IV practice, Gamm said.
Now, a new arm and new chunks of foam, already stained with fake blood, await more drills. The SimMan lets paramedics practice placing IVs in situations where arm veins won't suffice, such as IVs to the deep neck and groin areas.
“We need it to be as realistic as possible,” Paterniti said. “Our sickest patients, you might not be able to find a vein on them on top. It's not something you can see. It's something you have to feel.”
During Friday's drill, Capt. Mike Lande and firefighter Rich Smith worked to save the SimMan, who was unconscious. They matched their CPR to a metronome beeping cheerily nearby. The SimMan's chest rose and fell, a tangle of color-coded cords.
Several times, Gamm switched up the SimMan's heart rhythms, giving firefighters new puzzles to solve. Using a remote, he slowed the SimMan's heart rate to a dangerous crawl.
He then set up the defibrillator — the SimMan wasn't doing so well.
“No pulse coming in!” he said.
In a real emergency, Lande and Smith would take turns performing CPR. Meanwhile, other emergency responders would be talking to family or witnesses at the scene, Gamm said. Teamwork is crucial.
“The moment we get a heartbeat back, we can be on our way to the hospital,” he said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
The man on the ground didn't mind.
He's the SimMan, a high-tech dummy used by the Everett Fire Department to practice responding to unusual medical emergencies.
Gamm, an Everett firefighter paramedic, is a bit of a CPR and life-saving guru, his coworkers said. He runs drills on the SimMan and his 3-month-old counterpart, the SimBaby, for about 180 Everett emergency responders a year.
The dummies are stored at Fire Station 5 at Madison Street and Beverly Boulevard.
“This is as close to living tissue as we can come up with right now,” Gamm said Friday.
The high-stress simulations build muscle memory that kicks in during adrenaline-fueled rescues, said Joe Paterniti, a firefighter paramedic and medical services officer.
Firefighters from around Snohomish County have stopped by for their own SimMan training, he said.
The city of Everett purchased SimMan and the SimBaby in 2006 so the firefighters can stay up-to-date with national CPR standards, Gamm said. They can be hooked up to heart rhythm generators that Gamm can manipulate to mimic emergency simulations.
The SimMan recently needed about $1,555 in surgery. His arm was torn up and tattered from IV practice, Gamm said.
Now, a new arm and new chunks of foam, already stained with fake blood, await more drills. The SimMan lets paramedics practice placing IVs in situations where arm veins won't suffice, such as IVs to the deep neck and groin areas.
“We need it to be as realistic as possible,” Paterniti said. “Our sickest patients, you might not be able to find a vein on them on top. It's not something you can see. It's something you have to feel.”
During Friday's drill, Capt. Mike Lande and firefighter Rich Smith worked to save the SimMan, who was unconscious. They matched their CPR to a metronome beeping cheerily nearby. The SimMan's chest rose and fell, a tangle of color-coded cords.
Several times, Gamm switched up the SimMan's heart rhythms, giving firefighters new puzzles to solve. Using a remote, he slowed the SimMan's heart rate to a dangerous crawl.
He then set up the defibrillator — the SimMan wasn't doing so well.
“No pulse coming in!” he said.
In a real emergency, Lande and Smith would take turns performing CPR. Meanwhile, other emergency responders would be talking to family or witnesses at the scene, Gamm said. Teamwork is crucial.
“The moment we get a heartbeat back, we can be on our way to the hospital,” he said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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