Ford Motor Company donates 50 vehicles to help rescue workers bone up on life-saving skills

The sounds of shattering glass and twisting sheet metal will resonate throughout a part of Dearborn but – for a change – not near Ford Motor Company's safety crash test building on Oakwood Boulevard.

Instead, these sounds will emanate from the Henry Ford Community College Campus, 5101 Evergreen, as a front loader and forklift crush and contort up to 50 Ford Motor Company vehicles from which area rescue workers will extricate crash test dummies.

"We know that every minute counts with crash victims, and that's why Ford has donated these vehicles," said Helen Petrauskas, vice president - Environmental and Safety Engineering. "If we can help rescue workers more effectively do their jobs, everyone will benefit."

Research by leading auto safety experts indicates that providing medical attention for accident victims an average of nine minutes earlier can help save 3,000 lives a year.

"Ford is mindful of safety in all forms," Petrauskas said. "In addition to finding ways to help people avoid and survive accidents, we also design our cars and trucks to help keep extrication times to a minimum so car accident victims can more quickly receive the medical attention they need."

Fire-rescue experts also are working hard to reduce extrication times, as they will demonstrate at Thursday's (June 10th) Regional Extrication Team Challenge. About 12 rescue teams will complete two extrication events – first using only hand tools, then a full complement of equipment – to free crash test dummies from vehicles including prototype and test fleet Lincoln Continentals, Ford Mustangs, F-150s, Windstars, Explorers and Expeditions that have been crushed to simulate vehicles involved in real-world crashes. The event is sponsored by the Regional Alliance for Firefighter Training (RAFT), a regional partnership of southeast Michigan fire departments and community colleges dedicated to ensuring that firefighters are highly trained professionals fully equipped to effectively save lives and property. RAFT was formed with the assistance of the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition.