Volvo Cars of North America Sponsors First Responder 5- Star Extrication Training Academy
Volvo donates six vehicles to Champion Rescue Tools' unique training academy
Irvine, CA (February 11, 2009) - Why would anyone purposely destroy more than $200,000 in new Volvo vehicles? The obvious answer: To save lives.
Volvo Cars of North America (VCNA) is proud to announce its sponsorship of the first 5-Star Extrication Training Academy hosted by Champion Rescue Tools February 13 -14, 2009 in Upland, California. Six 2008 Volvo vehicles will literally be torn apart in the unique single-day hands-on training program designed for emergency first responders. The academy offers a unique opportunity for qualified personnel to experience first-hand the toughest extrication problems posed by improved automobile construction.
The six Volvos giving their lives in the pursuit of improved extrication techniques are pairs of XC90 SUVs, S80 luxury sedans and V70 premium wagons worth a combined value of more than $214,000. Volvo will also display a cut-away model of an XC90, illustrating for the academy classes the passenger compartment construction and the locations of the five different grades of steel utilized throughout the vehicle.
"With the kinds of metals and structures we employ today, extrication techniques and tools are different than 10 or even 5 years ago," said Bruno DiGennaro, Senior Safety Engineer, VCNA. "We believe Champion's Academy will significantly help first responders and ultimately accident victims during post crash situations."
The academy is offered free to qualifying first responders and training officers and is being sponsored by Champion Rescue Tools, the leader in next-generation, hydraulic rescue tools. "No other training program exists for the first responders in the United States that brings together the safest automobile constructions with the best extrication tool technology, free or otherwise," said Carl Haddon, co-director, national vehicle extrication training at Champion Rescue Tools.
VCNA, part of Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden, provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada. Volvo has been building cars with safety in mind for more than 80 years.
