Firefighters from several Iowa towns, including Le Mars, Hinton, and Sioux City, gathered outside Le Mars last weekend to train for emergencies involving commercial vehicles.

What's new: The training focused on handling wrecks with big trucks, school buses, and cars tangled together. Crews learned how to use heavy equipment like 60-ton rotators and practiced new rescue skills with real-sized truck and bus setups.

• Scenarios included a concrete mixer rolled onto a car, a school bus overturned onto a vehicle, and cars pinned beneath semis.
• "We spend the first day sitting up and building skills," said John Shackelford of Crossroads Training. The second day, crews put these skills to the test in tough practice scenes.
• The training helps firefighters understand the size and weight differences, especially when dealing with 80,000 to 100,000-pound trucks. It also gives them a chance to work with tools and equipment they rarely use.

Assistant Le Mars Fire Chief Steve Schwarz explained that the training is key for every community, especially with so many school buses and semis on the road. This yearly event improves how quickly and safely firefighters can help drivers in serious crashes—skills that are especially important for truckers and first responders, reported Siouxland Proud.