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Extrication
Extrication Tips: October 2011
In my last Extrication Tips column, in July, the focus was on moving a vehicle to access a victim.
Tools of the Trade
Being a part of the extrication community allows me to attend trade shows and seminars and keep abreast of what’s happening in the industry.
Extrication Tips: July 2011
Many of us have responded to calls at which patients are trapped inside their vehicles against trees, hydro poles or other vehicles. If rescuers could access victims from the damaged side of the vehicle, extrication could be a snap, but the only way to do that is to move the vehicle off the impinging object. Rescuers have been told for years never to move a vehicle with a victim inside. Generally, I agree with this concept but there are exceptions to every rule. However, extrication instructors do not want emergency responders to believe that the solution to pinned or trapped patients begins with moving the vehicle. Moving the vehicle is an option but it is the exception, not the rule.
Extrication Tips: April 2011
When rescuers attend collisions involving trapped or pinned patients, standard extrication evolutions such as roof-and-door removal or dash lifts and rolls are often sufficient for removal of the occupants.
Award unveiled at extrication challenge
Feb. 3, 2011 – The Wayne Topping Medic award was unveiled during the 2010 North American Vehicle Rescue Challenge, held from Sept. 19 to 25, 2010, in Calgary.
Extrication Tips: October 2010
When we started this year-long big-rig project in January, I promised an exam to test your knowledge. I hope you’ve learned from the last three Extrication Tips columns and that you will be able to apply those lessons if necessary.
Extrication explanation
A year ago, in the August 2009 edition of Fire Fighting in Canada, we talked about new vehicle technology and the challenges it presents for rescuers.
Extrication Tips July 2010
In part 2 of big rig rescue in April we talked about arrival, inner and outer surveys, hazard control stabilization and interior rescuer duties once inside the cab. Here, our focus is on disentanglement, lifting options and procedures to gain access to the involved vehicles.
Extrication Tips: April 2010
In the January column on big rig rescue, we discussed the anatomy of large trucks and trailers and a few late-model design characteristics that pertain to their construction. Here, we will focus on arrival, assessment, stabilization and interior rescue duties.
Extrication Tips: January 2010
In September, I instructed at a two-day big rig rescue symposium in Nisku, Alta. The other two lead instructors were Billy Leach Jr. from North Carolina and George Klemm from Vancouver Island.
Extrication Tips: October 2009
In June I had an opportunity to work on concrete truck rollover accident simulations. The idea came to me after my department responded to a concrete-truck-versus-car accident that resulted in five fatalities – an entire family taken in the blink of an eye.
New vehicle technology
New vehicle technology, or NVT, seems to be the buzz-word in extrication these days. Today’s vehicles are safer, smaller and more fuel-efficient. The legislated improvements to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214 and, most recently, 216, deal with side and roof strength and also the integrity of motor vehicles.
Extrication Tips: Raising the roof
When it comes to patient removal from crashed vehicles there are many options to be considered regarding the path of egress – issues such as access to the patient, degree or level of entrapment, and compartment intrusion. Rescuers need to determine the safest, most effective and least time-consuming path of patient egress based on the patient’s condition.
Extrication Tips: Using the air chisel
In the January issue we talked about air chisels in general, including their basic design, function, proper use and why they are gaining popularity again.
Extrication Tips: Vehicle lockout guide
In October's Extrication Tips column, Randy Schmitz discussed vehicle entry. Schmitz has also developed a model guideline for vehicle lockouts that is ready for your department to adopt.
Extrication Tips: The evolution of the air chisel
Hand-held rescue tools such as the pneumatic air chisel were the tools of the trade prior to the introduction of hydraulic cutters, rams and spreaders. The chisel still had a place on the truck, but was used less and less frequently as time went on.
Extrication Tips: The Big Easy solution - Tool saves time, reduces damage to vehicle
The fire service is a public service agency that strives to ensure the life safety of our residents and provide support services for many different types of situations that our residents encounter in their daily lives.
Tools of the Trade: Technical advances boost safety
At the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis in April, many firefighters had the opportunity to participate in the hands-on-training, or HOT, sessions
Extrication Tips: Lifting procedures for strut systems
In the two previous issues (January 2008 and October 2007) we talked about basic stabilization and then moved on to more advanced stabilizing situations with vehicles on their roofs and sides.
Bulletproof: Armoured Brinks vehicle makes for challenging extrication
It’s one thing to rescue someone trapped in a vehicle; it’s quite another when that vehicle is an armoured truck.
Opening doors; Airbags, rollover protection challenge rescuers
Today there are many challenges that rescuers face when considering access through a driver’s side or passenger front door. With side-impact protection systems (SIPS) deploying from the inner door skin toward the driver, and rollover protection systems being introduced from that same location, rescuers must be more cautious and better trained.
TERC challenge tests extrication specialists: Teams encouraged to compete in regional events
Gradually you come to, in a daze and confused. You hurt. The last thing you remember is the car headed toward you. Then, a crash. Panic sets in as you realize you’re trapped. You move your head, eyes searching for a way out. Then there’s a voice: Fire department. We’re here to help you.
High-tech transportation: New developments make vehicles stronger and challenge rescue personnel
Each year, vehicle extrication specialists look at the new crop of models and designs and often think they’re much the same as last year’s. Although the new vehicles often don’t look much different from the outside, manufacturers are finding safer and stronger materials that are lighter and more environmentally friendly and therefore pose new challenges for rescuers.
Extrication Tips: Stabilization 101, Part Two
In the October issue we talked about basic stabilization and dealing with vehicles that remain on their wheels when involved in crashes. This time we’ll focus on situations in which vehicles are found resting on their sides or roofs.
Extrication Tips: Cross-ramming for severe side impact intrusion
Cross-ramming for severe side impact intrusion
Extrication Tips: Let’s curb responder fear about hybrid vehicles!
Let’s curb responder fear about hybrid vehicles!
Extrication challenge
Patient was not only trapped in his vehicle after a late night crash but hours before discovery was also suffering from hypothermia. It was 24 below zero on a bleak, windy prairie.
Extrication Tips: Trunk tunnelling for extrication: a viable option?
Trunk Tunnelling for Extrication: A viable option?
Extrication Tips: Lifting bags - common practices and principles
Lifting bags: Common practices and principles
Hybrid hints and hazards
Today, changes in technological advancements in vehicles provide major challenges to rescuers and firefighters responding to motor-vehicle collisions that involve fire. Hybrid vehicles are the most prevalent examples. With onboard high-voltage electrical systems combined with more common 12-volt electrical systems, firefighters need to know more when working around hybrids during collisions, especially collisions requiring fire suppression. |
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