First Responders from the Foothills worked on farm equipment Thursday for hands-on Farmedic training.

The training at the Heritage Pointe Fire Station in Dewinton combined both theory and hands-on components, involving how to safety respond to farm incidents.

Lynn Roberts, Farmedic instructor, says farm incidents are different than dealing with motor vehicle collisions.

"Motor vehicles we can cut apart easy just because of the way they're built and we can use our tools on them. Farm equipment is heavy, they have a different center of balance, so knowing how to lift a tractor or where to cut on heavy equipment is really important."

Robertson says it's timely to be providing this type of education.

"We see higher incidents in the spring and fall because in spring we want to get the crops in and in fall we want to get the crops off so there's an urgency, " he says, "If you hurry your job sometimes you forget things and that's where accidents happen."

Roberts adds the Farmedic Training is beneficial for both first responders and patients because it gives responders a chance to learn how to respond quickly and be safe themselves, and to reduce the risk of injury further to the farmer.

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