Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue undertake training exercise in Radlett

Out of all the places I visited and all the people I've met in my relatively short journalistic career, never before have I had so much respect for a profession and it's heroic employees, than during my visit to one of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue training exercises.

When the invitation to a simulated car crash arrived in my email inbox, the idea of seeing firefighters at work, the infamous jaws of life, and a live casualty carefully unwrapped from the tangle of metal around them sounded brilliant.

I often write about the way firefighters use cutting equipment to free drivers from their twisted cars and was keen to see it in action. Little did I realise that today the driver was going to be me.

In fact I only discovered this minor detail on arrival at FMS Recovery in Radlett, a scrap yard which provides enough wrecked cars for weekly training for firefighters across the county.

After a quick briefing I was handed a set of firefighter's PPE, consisting of fireproof overalls and a helmet.

Keen not to lose face in front of men who routinely enter burning buildings, I tried to look calm while choosing which car in the simulated pile-up I wanted to be cut out of: an upside-down one, one on its side, or one on all four wheels.

Assuring the firefighters that hauling me from the upright Peugeot 306 would make the best pictures, I opened the creaky door and sat down, futilely adjusting the rear view mirror out of habit. In just under 20 minutes, the same mirror would no longer be part of the car.

I was to tell the firefighters that I had chest pains, I was told, and repeated the line when my door was opened by a uniformed and helmeted man minutes later, in a manner which would not impress the Casualty casting director.

My acting skills were soon put to the test further, as I pretended to be relaxed while several firefighters got to work on prising off the door.

Andy Hopcraft, station commander at Rickmansworth, said: “We use a system called crash data which tells us where the air-bags and fuel lines are to show us where to cut.

“We also follow a 'team approach' which consists of stabilising the casualty, glass and trim removal, and creating space.”

The term 'creating space' in my particular scenario meant taking off the doors and then the roof of the car, something which was demanded by the ambulance crews who were keen to get to work on my chest injury.

A neck brace was placed around my neck by a fire fighter named Jake, who talked me through what his colleagues were doing and why.

He remarked on my bravery in volunteering for the role, something which sounded strange from a man who no doubt regularly commits acts of actual bravery, such as walking into a smoke filled inferno with nothing but a hose-pipe and a torch.

The roof was removed remarkably quickly, saws to the side and behind me screeched and chopped through metal, windows were smashed and a massive pair of cutting pincers made mincemeat out of the pillars just inches away.

Despite being an exercise, and feeling completely safe in the well-trained hands of the Watford, Rickmansworth and Garston fire crews, this experience was absolutely terrifying.

With the windscreen protected by what looked like a big rug, the fire fighters folded the roof over onto the bonnet and a beam of midsummer sunshine streamed into the now convertible car.

The next step was introducing the back board on which I would be carried out, but this insertion was stalled by the driver's seat, as it would not fold flat.

The solution, it turned out, was remarkably simple, again the massive pincers were brought in and the back of the seat was quickly cut away.

With the seat gone and the board in, my not inconsiderable bulk was hauled out of the car and onto a verge where I awkwardly remained in character until someone told me it was all over.

I sat up and took in the horror of the area around me, the three cars in various stages of dissection with bodies of suitably more convincing volunteer casualties being pulled out.

I tried to imagine how I would feel if the scene I was observing had been caused by my own reckless driving.

Today's vehicles, as always, were provided by FMS Recovery scrap yard in Radlett.

Station Commander Hopcraf added: “We're very grateful, and this isn't a one off, Chris (owner) provides cars for Borehamwood, Dacorum, Watford and Three Rivers.

“People used to bring scrap cars to the station which they didn't want but that never happens any more. If it wasn't for Chris it would be very difficult to train.

“Training for road collisions is an integral part of the job, especially with new vehicles and new technology."

The whole thing was over in about 20 minutes, a time which I was assured would be shorter had there not been two other cars and casualties to deal with.

One of those casualties was Lee Gathard, a fifth year public service student, who was been a fire volunteer for more than two years.

The 23-year-old said: “I've wanted to join the emergency services since I was five, I want to make a difference. It's not all about driving fire engines at speed, it's about saving lives.”

With Lee's words ringing in my ears I drove - very sheepishly – to my next appointment, not keen to repeat the exercise in my own car.

For someone who writes, almost daily it would seem, about firefighters being called to car crashes, it's easy to deal with them as a matter of fact. As a motorist it's also easy to think the safety systems in the car make you invincible.

But as a fire fighter, as I've frequently been reminded, it never gets any easier to cut someone out of a car.