SEATTLE - The victims are pinned by cars, crushed by concrete blocks, trapped under tons of rubble.
Thankfully, they're not real people. Still, the life-sized dolls that weigh anywhere from 50 to 150 pounds are what's readying firefighters to save citizens trapped in collapsed roads and buildings.
Concerns over how Western Washington would respond to a disaster like the earthquake in Chile has Seattle Fire training about a thousand local firefighters -- not just specialized search teams -- to cut, lift, and carry victims to safety.
"It's important for everyone to know how to respond," said Captain William "Smokey" Simpson, a training captain for the department's technical rescue team. "In a widespread disaster, for example, we wouldn't have the resources" from just the department's special teams.
It's a drill they call the "Second Wave."
"Lightly trapped and surface victims... typically are saved by relatives, friends, coworkers, bystanders and the first responders," said Simpson, "so the people that we're getting out today are the more heavily entombed people, people requiring airbags or hydraulic tools to extricate."
"Let them handle it, I want you back up here!" yelled Lieutenant Brian Maier as he directed more than a dozen firefighters through the simulation. "Let's lift that beam and grab that child. It's a kid, okay?"
Maier and all these Seattle firefighters aren't just learning proper technique for saving lives, they're learning how to make the tough choices - when to rescue someone, when to leave someone for later, even if it means only one of those victims will survive.
In each session, 16 firefighters work together to search for and rescue patients using rope, airbags, hydraulic tools, saws, bars, cribbing, rescue baskets and aerial ladders, said department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen.
"Anytime you're dealing with multiple patients, sometimes you have to make some hard decisions." added Capt. Simpson. "[We're] trying to do the most good for the most people."
On Wednesday, teams of firefighters ran though a simulated highway bridge collapse at the joint training facility in South Seattle. About 15 to 20 dolls were placed in the wreckage, and crews were tasked with pulling them from pancaked cars and collapsed girders -- but while looking out for broken sewer mains, gas pipes, aftershocks, anything that could cause explosions or cause further victims to suffer.
Seattle Fire said training all their firefighters ensures they can respond immediately rather than wait for backup. The training is part of the department's ongoing training regimen, said Vander Houwen, who added that the scenario can apply to situations from earthquake to terrorist attacks.
