Emergency Team Training at the Brockville Ontario Speedway (22 May 2021)

Although the racing season is yet to begin, preparations are being made in readiness.

Race Director at the Brockville Ontario Speedway,  Mike Kelly got hold of an old Modified cage and built a mock-up for the purpose  of safety training.

In the event of a serious wreck and a driver needs assistance it’s important that the emergency crews know  what to expect and how to deal with the situation . 

I was invited to attend along with other media colleagues , Don Simpson and Tim Baltz.

On Saturday morning I arrived with Don about  ten minutes before the 10-00 am scheduled start time which gave us a good chance to chat with track promoter Paul Kirkland .

 

I was eager to find out when he thought racing  would finally  get the go ahead to resume. He’d recently received an Ontario Government release relating to the lifting of COVID  restrictions . It stated  that auto racing should be able to resume in mid June.

Once things got underway Mike led the seminar , and explained to the medics how confined the driver compartment is in a dirt Modified is. 

I can relate to that when I squeezed into one , after I test drove one last year. 

Mike explained, the first thing you need to know is how the quick release steering wheel works. 

He also introduced former driver and DIRTCAR Tech man, Mark Hitchcock who went through the dangers of fire and the fire suppression system. 

A dummy was then put inside the car , and the team were instructed on the best way to extricate the driver.

This is a very intricate task , due to the small amount of space in the cramped cockpit.

The training session was a great success and should be very useful in the event of an accident.