THE great and the good from Newton Abbot Fire Station focused on casualty care during their latest training session.

The crew spent a recent Monday evening practising technique relating to patient care, as well as the procedure of managing traumatic injuries.

First off the crew looked at the (C)ABCDE approach - Catastrophic haemorrhage Airway (with c-spine protection) Breathing Circulation Disability and Exposure - to managing an event, before shifting their focus to trauma incidents.

The crew used tourniquets to stop the bleeding on a simulation of an amputated leg, then applied a blast bandage over the stump in order to dress the wound ready for transportation to hospital.

A firefighter also wore a prosthetic simulating a large open wound to his arm, allowing crew to practised using a dressing which is packed directly into a wound.

A spokesperson for the station said: ‘Although we rarely have to utilise any of these techniques without our ambulance colleagues present, the evening was a good opportunity for our crews to get some hands on experience so that they are prepared for when they have to use it for real’.