They've messed up a lot of cars in the past few years; crushing them, placing them upside down, removing the roofs and doors, literally tearing them apart piece by piece.

But in September, members of South King Fire & Rescue extrication team were ruining cars with one thing in mind: competing in at the World Rescue Organization's World Extrication Challenge in Cork, Ireland and the North American Vehicle Rescue Challenge in Calgary, Canada.

South King serves Des Moines and Federal Way.

While the events in Ireland and Calgary were opportunities where the team could compete, they are really learning symposiums where members can learn from the best of the best from the world in challenging scenarios.

Firefighters are exposed to new rescuer and patient safety considerations, the latest in extrication techniques, new innovations in extrication tools and receive information on new vehicle technology.

Evidence has shown that the utilization of the rescue challenge concept and associated training can and has reduced occurrences of secondary injuries.

"All extrication members are really there to share and learn from each other. While winning is nice, it is about helping each other improve in our skills," said Chris Burdyshaw, South King Fire & Rescue extrication team member and also a member of the Puyallup Fire Extrication Team.

Chris Burdyshaw and Anthony John, South King Fire & Rescue firefighters, are part of the Puyallup Fire Extrication team, which is comprised of 13 firefighters from four local departments. They placed 18th out of 30 teams in the Ireland challenge.

This competition was a big deal because they were the only team from the U.S. to go. They gained a great deal of knowledge from their European counterparts and were well received by them. During the team t-shirt exchange, their shirts seemed most popular!

In Calgary, seven members of South King Fire & Rescue attended the competition. When they weren't in the challenge spotlight, each member focused on watching other teams, observing as much extrication minutia as possible.

And now, the team members bring their knowledge back to their colleagues and begin sharing what they have learned. This is beneficial to the fire department as well as the community.

"The community is going to be better served as the firefighters get vehicle collision patients out more efficiently and in less time and keeping the firefighters safe with the complicated extractions." Patrick Mertlich, a newer member to the team says.

From his initial exposure to the team and competitions, he says that South King Fire & Rescue's extrication team is looked upon as experts in the field amongst their peers.

In order for the members to be prepared the international challenges, they drilled, practiced, and planned for a year ahead, on their own time, without compensation from the fire department.

Fundraising to help pay for the trip included holding a pancake breakfast and auction as well as seeking donations to help offset the competition expenses that they must pay for themselves. While the department supports the team in allowing them drill space, assistance with the training, and knowledge share, the extrication team is self supporting. Their investments do come back in so many ways; a better trained fire department to serve the community, reputation as experts in the field and of course, the experiences that competition provides.

As for the communities benefit aspect, extrication team member Wendy Chinn added, "Attending these challenges will now allow us to respond even quicker at a serious collision resulting in better patient care and firefighter safety."