Ring Rescue’s COO, Blake, recently interviewed Robert Policht, a firefighter assigned to Ladder Company 1 in the City of Passaic, New Jersey. Policht has multiple certifications including firefighter II, fire officer II, swift water tech, and emergency medical technician. Policht also has a Master’s degree in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from Arizona State University. In this interview Blake and Robert discuss Robert’s experiences with ring removal in the fire sector, the difficulties they’ve faced at his department with traditional solutions and how they have been able to adapt their processes for better success with implementing new ring removal procedures.

Policht says his role as a firefighter includes the common response training and house calls. He is also a volunteer fire chief in his local community where he’s had the exposure of working with the Ring Rescue solutions. Policht mentions how happy he is to see how the Ring Rescue Compression Device has benefitted the Man vs. Machine toolkits in the fire service as a superior solution to ring removal.

Now that you know a bit about Robert, let’s get into  the interview...

Q: How important is it to you to preserve property?

A: A ring could mean everything to somebody. It’s huge. You have to preserve it. Everybody can learn to cut a ring, but if you have the capabilities of keeping that jewelry, that memento, that life item, it makes a huge difference in their lives.

Q: What kind of ring removal cases do you see?

A: We’ve had a couple of the “angry fingers”. The patient tells you, “oh, nothing happened, it's just swollen”

We had one of our older Chiefs here in the department on a drill night with a ring that he hadn’t been able to remove in several years. He vocalized that he did not believe in the Compression Device, saying “What is this thing? It’s just a blood pressure cuff... The ring’s not coming off”. We removed the ring using the Ring Rescue Compression Device and turned the Chief into a believer! 

Q: Where are you removing the most stuck rings?

A: I’ve personally been to the hospital once to help remove a ring. Most of our removals have been in the firehouse; people walking in and asking us to remove their rings.

Q: What methods were you using before the Ring Rescue Compression Device?

A: All your standard basics; lubrication using soaps, cooking oil (rolls his eyes), trying to lather it up, rubber band trick to try to get around the ring.

Q: What were the downsides to these methods you used previous to being exposed to the Ring Rescue Compression Device?

A: Once you’ve tried the basics; you try to lather it, rubber band or compression string, and then finally you attempt to cut. This can sometimes freak a person out. You’re talking about using some sort of rotary tool, like a dremel, and this turns into a three person operation! You have one person holding the hand steady while they're talking to the patient, one person is trying to cool the ring or whatever object we’re cutting, and then you have a person using the cutter. Plus anything can happen because you can’t control the person's movement. If they freak out and twist their hand, you might nick the finger with the rotary blade even if you have shims and all the precautions in place.

Q: Tell us about one of your most significant ring removals.

A: As cheesy as it is, the one with our Chief stands out because he has a wealth of knowledge. He’s one of those older senior guys that can “break your chops”. He did not believe in it [the Ring Rescue Compression Device] and did not believe his ring would come off no matter what. We didn’t even do much. I think it was maybe three rounds of compression; very quick, and the ring slid right off. His facial expression is what stands out the most. For him to turn into a believer just like that, it makes a huge impact on the culture, the training and people’s ability to understand why we are so into the research and development of our equipment and capabilities. 

Q: Did you ever receive training on ring removal?

A: One thing that I was doing years ago was taking a couple Man vs. Machine classes and then I ended up doing my own thing and writing a couple articles on some elements of Man vs. Machine training. What I learned there, I brought here. I also used to work EMS in the past. There was no concrete training for ring removal, we used our experiences in the field.

But then once we got into the Ring Rescue Compression Device; you guys did an awesome zoom call with us to go over things. Both the older crowd and younger crowd were interactive. For everyone to be engaged and discussing it; understanding the difference between the traditional way and the Ring Rescue way. It was good to see such engagement and people understanding the pros and cons of each and that this was a good thing we’re working towards; developing a less destructive way of removing rings.

Q: Would you recommend the Ring Rescue Compression Device?

A: I definitely recommend the Ring Rescue Compression Device to everybody; police, fire, EMS, jewellers. If you are able to save that ring, it makes a difference. It’s simple, it’s small and it’s affordable and people don’t think about that. Everyone just goes straight to the dremel. Yes, the dremel can be used in many cases, but you never know whose ring you’re removing. 

Q: What piece of advice would you give to your fellow firefighters for when they come into contact with a ring removal situation?

A: Train, train, train. Just because it doesn't seem like a hot topic or it’s not cutting a roof or pumping lines or driving vehicles in tight areas, or something crazy like that, you still have to think about this. You have to be well versed in everything because it might be tomorrow that somebody walks in with a ring removal.

Thank you, Robert, for speaking with us! Read below for some key takeaways from our eye-opening interview all thanks to Robert…

• Many firefighters are not formally trained in ring removal. Because of this, the dremel is  often the go-to to remove a ring, even though cutting may not be necessary

• The dremel is labour intensive (3 people operation!!), time intensive and lacks safety; an inefficient process overall

• Policht would recommend the Ring Rescue Compression Device Kit to not only fire departments but police, EMS, and jewelers.

• “Train. Train. Train.” - Policht - and we couldn’t agree more! 

After our great discussion with Policht, we want to ensure that our non-destructive solution is the go-to method for ring removal across the fire industry. He mentions that the dremel is a time-intensive and labour intensive process. Our Ring Rescue Compression Device significantly reduces the need for ring cutting and provides a safer option to remove the ring and preserve sentimental property. Click here to learn more about our solutions here and how they can benefit your department.

And to watch the full interview check out the video below…