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Ford Donates 50 Vehicles to Help Rescue Workers

7 June 2000

Donates the Vehicles to Help Improve Life-Saving Skills

    DEARBORN, Mich. - The sounds of shattering glass and twisting sheet metal 
will resonate throughout Dearborn today, but -- for a change -- not near Ford 
Motor Company's safety crash test building on Oakwood Boulevard.

    Instead, these sounds will emanate from the Henry Ford Community College
Campus, 5101 Evergreen, where front loaders and forklifts will crush and
contort more than 50 Ford Motor Company vehicles at the Second Annual Regional
Extrication Team Challenge.  The event is sponsored by the Regional Alliance
for Firefighter Training (RAFT) to improve the rescue and extrication
knowledge and skill of local Fire and Emergency Service personnel.

    "We know that every minute counts with crash victims, and that's why Ford
has donated these vehicles," said Helen Petrauskas, Vice President of
Environmental and Safety Engineering.  "If we can help rescue workers more
effectively do their jobs, everyone will benefit."

    Research by leading auto safety experts indicates that providing medical
attention for accident victims an average of nine minutes earlier can help
save 3,000 lives a year.

    "Ford is mindful of safety in all forms," Petrauskas said.  "In addition
to finding ways to help people avoid and survive accidents, we also design our
cars and trucks to help keep extrication times to a minimum so car accident
victims can more quickly receive the medical attention they need."

    Fire-rescue experts are also working hard to reduce extrication times, as
they will demonstrate today at the team challenge.  Eighteen rescue teams will
undertake two 20-minute extrication events -- one using only hand tools, and
another using a full complement of equipment.  The teams will free crash test
dummies from smashed vehicles positioned to stimulate a severe collision.

    The first place team is awarded a slot in the International Competition
attended by teams from around the world.  Last year the Sterling Heights Fire
Department won the regional competition, earning the right to represent RAFT
at the 1999 International Competition in Coral Gables, Fla.

    RAFT is a regional partnership of southeast Michigan fire departments and
community colleges dedicated to ensuring that firefighters are highly trained
professionals fully equipped to effectively save lives and property.

    The extrication events run Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
the soccer field at Henry Ford Community College.