It’s been years since the Alna Fire Department has had to cut into a car to rescue someone, Fire Chief Mike Trask said. But the department has the equipment and still trains, for the next time. Firefighters gathered May 24 at the salt and sand shed off Route 218 to cut up cars.

Norm’s Used Cars in Wiscasset donated the three Subaru Foresters and a Chevy half-ton pickup, Trask said. “We greatly appreciate it, because cars can be hard to come by.” Trask also wanted to thank Boothbay Fire Department members Dave Pratt and John Long for teaching the training session. “It went very well,” he said. About a dozen of the Alna department’s roster of 20 members took part, Trask said.

The department tries to train in extrication a couple of times a year. “If there are new firemen, that gives them experience. And for the veteran firemen, they can keep up their skills,” Trask said. Plus, he said, vehicles are always changing, in terms of air bags and other features.

Asked about some of the things firefighters learn about extrication, Trask said if there’s a conscious victim trapped in a car, the person is already stressed, and each noise will further stress them, so it’s good to talk to them and explain what’s happening as the work to free them continues.

If interested in joining the department, visit www.alna.maine.gov/alna-volunteer-fire-department/ or stop by the fire station on Route 218 Wednesday nights, when firefighters meet. Members start showing up as early as  6:30 p.m., Trask said.