 Responding to an aircraft emergency greatly differs from any other vehicle emergency, which is why the Belfry Fire Department held an open helicopter emergency response technique class this evening to better prepare their first responders. You don't need all the hydraulic rescue tools for an aircraft that you have to have for maybe an automobile extent. There's four primary tools that one would use to extricate someone out of a helicopter. There's a standard fire axe, flathead fire axe, or eight-pound halogen bar, you know a set of EMS or trauma shears or 10 snips, and a set of bolt cutters to cut the hinges in the aircraft. That's a very common, very simple tool that any firefighter with basic training should be able to use. Now just because it takes a few minor items to extract someone from a helicopter, that doesn't mean you or I should do it. It could cause more harm than good. If somebody gets in close, they get fuel on them, something happens, they can end up hurting themselves a whole lot more trying to go in if they don't know how to assess the situation. You don't have any idea what you're dealing with, because most of the time in a crash it's not just the fuel, you've got hydraulics and you're mixing a lot of things that normally are contained and something breaks, ruptures, then you've got things mixing and you could be in harm's way in a heartbeat. For more information on other training classes being offered at the Belfry Volunteer Fire Department, simply visit them on Facebook. Reporting from Belfry for EKB News, I'm Shawn Allen.