Firefighter paramedics go through simulation training

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Today, fire and rescue first responders participated in a training simulation at Chippewa Valley Technical College to work on a special case they don’t see everyday.

Rescue workers trained on a patient, a simulation mannequin, that had fallen from 20 feet high and was electrocuted which, according to Deputy Chief Jon Schultz, is a rare occurrence.

“There’s a lot of things that go on part of physiologically within the body. Somebody is electrocuted and it’s not something that you typically see. So that’s where we threw that as kind of a curveball into this to make to where they would have to look for it and and and hopefully recognize what’s going on and then treat it appropriately.” says Deputy Chief Schultz.

The deputy chief says the simulation hit some rough patches that the team overcame together.

“We can needle somebody’s chest and, you know, they’ll hopefully come back from it and we get a good reaction from it. Well, now we did that and they’re still not getting the reaction that they need. So now they’re like, what’s going on? How come this is why is this happening? What am I missing? And that’s where we threw in the hyperkalemia as well.” says the Deputy Chief.

Hyperkalemia is a condition where there is elevated potassium within the body... Through all the curveballs thrown their way, firefighter paramedic Chris Nyhus says they were able to learn through the chaos.

“The big thing, I guess, is, you know, just working as a team, not forgetting to talk, you know, in a chaotic situation, that’s kind of the best the best way to work our way through some of those situations and scenarios and just bounce ideas off of each other and always revert back to our training.” says Nyhus.

The simulation lab was held in partnership with sacred heart hospital, mayo clinic, and CVTC where they combined their tools and educated staff to simulate this situation properly.

This training is held annually for all of the firefighter paramedics in the Eau Claire County Fire Departments to participate and train in.