Town of Rome Mock Snowmobile Crash

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Town of Rome - On Saturday, January 16th, the Town of Rome Fire Department partnered with members of the Rome Sno-Bandits (RSB) to stage a mock snowmobile accident. The snowmobile was provided by RSB President Tom Warner and RSB Vice-President Bryan Meyer played the crash “victim”. The Rome Fire Department used this staged accident as a training exercise for real life challenges of remote rescue. The crash scene was about half a mile west off of 15th Avenue on the snowmobile trail where the trail turns toward Archer Avenue. The 911 call was presented as a single snowmobiler vs tree crash with a fractured tibia/fibula. The Fire Department staged their equipment on 15th Avenue. They deployed their UTV with tracks to travel to the scene of the crash. The Fire Department videotaped the call, took still pictures and used a Go-Pro camera on the victim to provide complete coverage of the exercise. They plan to combine all of the media for Department training purposes. The Rome Sno-Bandits also plan to use this video for their snowmobile safety classes.

The mock accident revealed some of the challenges that the Town of Rome Fire Department faces with their current equipment. The UTV with tracks is effective to travel to accident scenes. However, it is not currently outfitted to easily transport an accident victim out from the crash site to plowed blacktop roads where the ambulance stages and waits. At the conclusion of the training exercise, the Fire Department and the Sno-Bandits returned to the fire station. It was there that the Rome Sno-Bandit Board presented a check to the Town of Rome Fire Department that will allow them to purchase a Medlite Transport Deluxe MTD-103. This apparatus will be permanently attached to the UTV. It will allow the Fire Department to strap a patient on a backboard and transport them with an IV and oxygen tank while an EMT tends to them. Without this apparatus, the patient on the backboard is placed in the box in the back of the UTV and the EMT must walk alongside the vehicle. With the Medlite transport, it will increase the probability that the victim will be transported and treated within the “Golden Hour”. The ultimate goal of the Fire Department is for any accident victim to be treated at the hospital within one hour of an accident. As an added bonus, this equipment will not be limited to snowmobile only use. This also can be used in the summer time for ATV/UTV type accidents.

The Town of Rome was recognized as a Snowmobile Friendly Community by the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs (AWSC) in 2020. Working with the Town of Rome Fire Department on this training exercise and making the donation to the purchase of this piece of equipment solidifies the Rome Sno-Bandits commitment to community service and promoting safe snowmobiling. Check out the RSB’s website (www.romesnobandits.com) or their Facebook page. The Sno-Bandits meet on the second Saturday of the month from September through June. Please check out their Facebook page for the latest meeting locations since the Rome Town Hall has been closed due to Covid. Join a club and you’ll never ride alone!