On Thursday July 17th the Cutchogue Fire Department was invited to participate in an Inter-Department drill with the Southold Fire Department.

Volunteers from CFD and Southold FD took part in the training that included a mock vehicle accident scenario involving Firefighters and EMT's from both departments working as a team.

The drill was facilitated by the Suffolk County Fire Academy as part of their Advanced Vehicle Extrication Drill and was held at the North Fork Sanitation's recycling facility in Cutchogue.

Using donated vehicles, firefighters to practiced their extrication skills using the Hurst, hydraulic rescue tools commonly referred to as the "Jaws of Life" carried on Heavy Rescue Trucks.

The scenario included a several car collision with multiple dangers and challenges and included multiple patients.

The complicated scenario provided unique challenges including a vehicle fire, that forced firefighters to use a variety of tools and unconventional means to extricate the patients.

Overall the drill lasted approximately 2 hours and gave firefighters a valuable opportunity to practice their skills and become proficient with the equipment each department uses as well as review procedures for a Mass Casualty Incident

Thank you to everyone who came out and to the instructors from the Suffolk County Fire Academy, and the Southold FD for a great night of training.

Thank you to North Fork Sanitation and the Schelin Family for the use of your facility and donation of the vehicles for the training.

We always value the opportunity to train with our neighboring department in preparation for a real emergency.

Throughout the year we host a variety of training sessions that help us refine our skills.

CFD and other local fire departments welcome the donation of used / junk cars to be used for training purposes such as these.

Any person interested in Donating a car for Training is asked to contact the Firehouse at (631) 734-6907.