Harrington Body Shop in Rising Sun, Md., will host a First Responder Emergency Extrication (FREE) event on Thursday, Oct. 19.
Although the 60-year-old body shop has a rich history of community service, it will be the first FREE event for Harrington Body Shop as well as its new owners, Eustace Mita and Dominic DelGiorno of MITA Collision.
“We are delighted to be a facilitator of this invaluable training in our home town,” said Robert Kiebler Jr., general manager of the shop and a 20-year-veteran of the Community Fire Co. of Rising Sun. “I can assure you firsthand as a firefighter and former safety officer of the impact this will have on local first responders but most importantly the people we serve. This program is clearly a life-saver.”
State Farm has donated four late-model vehicles for the upcoming National Auto Body Council event. Banks Towing, owned by Lee Banks and one of Cecil County’s largest towing companies, is donating towing services to bring and return the vehicles from Insurance Auto Auctions in Baltimore.
The FREE event will benefit first responders from Rising Sun and surrounding areas. The event will start at 5:30 p.m. with a complimentary catered dinner, followed by classroom training from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and hands on-extrication until 9 p.m. All participants are encouraged to bring their turnout gear.
The National Auto Body Council’s FREE initiative helps save lives by providing firefighters and rescue squads with rare opportunities to train and hone their skills specifically on late-model vehicles with lighter-weight, high-strength steels, sophisticated electronics and multiple airbag systems. The program is a collaborative effort that includes collision repair shops, insurance companies that donate late-model total-loss vehicles, and Holmatro Rescue Equipment, which provides expert instructors and equipment to facilitate the event.