Rescue Squad Backboard Construction Project

Vital Stats

Calvin C

Powhatan, VA

  • people helped30
  • People Doing It17

The Problem

The purpose of this project was to assist the Cumberland Volunteer Rescue Squad in being prepared to respond to a mass casualty disaster within Cumberland County and the surrounding areas. The Cumberland Volunteer Rescue Squad is located in Cumberland County VA. The Cumberland Rescue Squad is an organization of volunteers who services the citizens of Cumberland County when medical emergencies occur. At times, Cumberland Rescue is called to provide mutual aid support to other counties when additional ambulances or resources are needed to answer 911 calls. Currently there are 3 Fire Departments and 2 Rescue Squads in Cumberland County. Should a school bus accident or other mass casualty incident occur, the Cumberland emergency services agencies were able to backboard only 19 patients. This project added an additional 30 backboards to the recourses currently available in the county, assisting to better prepare Cumberland Volunteer Rescue Squad in the event they are needed to respond to a mass casualty disaster.

Plan of Action

For this project, I built 20 adult-size and 10 Pediatric-size backboards for the Cumberland Rescue Squad Mass-Casualty vehicle. A backboard is a full body splint that is used for a person who may have hurt their head, neck or back. This board, when used correctly, fully immobilizes a person, keeping them still so that they do not further injure themselves and so that they are easily transported by ambulance or helicopter to the nearest hospital. We cut the boards with the assistance of Bill Hochstetler of Lonesome Pine woodworking and routed the edges and hand-holds. Then we sanded, marked and stained the boards and let them dry. Later, we gave them an extra coat of polyurethane, then donated them to the Squad.
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