Firefighters Support Foundation

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Firefighters Support Foundation

• Basic Vehicle Extrication

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About FSF

• The Firefighters Support Foundation is a 501c3
  non-profit organization whose primary mission is
  to develop, produce and distribute training
  programs to firefighters and first responders.
  All of our programs are distributed free of
  charge.

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Permission

• Permission is granted to reproduce or distribute
  this material so long as the Firefighters Support
  Foundation is credited as the source

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Accompanying Video

• This PowerPoint presentation accompanies the
  video presentation of the same title.

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Presenter

• Lt. Drew Livesey
• 10 years as a Professional Firefighter in the
  Portland-Metro area
• 17 years of experience in the fire service
• Active team member in USAR as well as Vehicle
  and Heavy Machinery Instructor

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Overview

• Extrication Philosophy
• Scene Approach and Control
• Passive and Active Safety Systems
• Safety System Mitigation
• Extrication Considerations

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Extrication Philosophy

• Safety First
• (Turnouts, Gloves, Eye Pro, Charged Hose Line)
• Patient Protection and Care
• (Triage, of patients, types of injuries)
• Remove the car from the Patient!

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Extrication Philosophy

• Less is More Approach - Time vs. Benefit
• The average extrication takes 30 min.
• What does a trauma entry patient need?....
  surgery
• Remove the vehicle from the patient and not the
  patient from the vehicle (when appropriate.. it
  takes time)
• Perform rapid extrication when appropriate
  (immediate danger to life)

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Scene Approach and Control

• Call for resources early
• Approach to scene
• Stabilize
• Scene
• Vehicle
• Patient

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Scene Approach and Control

• Plan ABC.
• Assign one person as extrication Team Leader
• Team Leader determine Plan A communicate it to
  team begin execution
• Establish Plan B and C and ensure adequate
  resources are available to execute
• Monitor progress of plan, and switch to new plan
  if progress is stalled

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Passive Safety Systems

• Vehicle construction
• Body configurations
• Reinforcement
• Exotic materials
• Other

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Body Configurations

• Full frame frame rail running front to back on
  each side
• Reliant upon no one component
• Unibody pass area floor pan with sub frame
  connectors
• Reliant upon all parts for integrity
• Space frame birdcage framework
• Reliant upon cage for integrity

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Reinforcement

• Soft points and hard points
• Hinge points
• Door beams

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Soft and Hard Points

• Soft outer skin
• Hard points attached to soft skin and
  reinforcements
• Hard points need to be forced in order to gain
  door access
• Soft materials tend to fail when stressed by a
  crash or by rescue tools

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Hinge / Latch Points

• Can be a very hard and reinforced point
• Different hinge types
• Cast
• Stamped
• Forged
• Hardened Steel
• Two Parts

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Hinge / Latch Points

• Latch points
• Nader Pin - Safety Bolt
• Wedge Design
• Other ?

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Door Beams

• High strength steels
• Micro-alloy Boron steel
• Welded to lighter weight connectors
• Bar is VERY difficult to cut !
• Deadbolting door a possibility

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Door Beams
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Active Safety Systems

• Airbags
• Pretensioners
• Rollover Protection

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Airbags
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Airbag Identifier

• ID Plates
• Shapes/ sizes
• Can be hidden
• Many locations/ placement
• IDing should be done quickly as possible

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Pretensioners

• Part of the air bag system
• Removes slack in the seat belt prior to occupant
  impact
• Works in conjunction with air bag system to put
  occupant into the proper position before impact
• Usually a pyrotechnic propellant

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Pretensioners
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Rollover Protection

• Identified as ROPS Rollover Protection System
• Spring or Pyrotechnic operated

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Rollover Protection
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Rollover Protection
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Peel and Peak

• Prior to cutting post in any vehicle you need to
  peel and peak
• Pull all interior plastics and safety system
  cylinders used to activate side and overhead
  airbag systems
• Pull plastics covering seat belt pretensioners

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Peel and Peak
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Safety System Mitigation

• Identify and Recognize Hazards
• Kill the power Cut or remove battery cables
• Cut seatbelts when needed
• Peel and Peak behind interior

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Wrap-up

• Scene safety
• Vehicle type and safety systems
• Have a plan A, B, and C
• New vehicles are changing
• High strength/exotic materials
• Safety systems
• Alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles

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Wrap-up

• Newer cars create new challenges to extrication
  adding to scene time
• More hazards to identify with new vehicle
• Do not mindlessly cut and spread a vehicle newer,
  smarter cars require newer, smarter approaches

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Acknowledgements

• Fire Rescue Equipment NW, LLC
• Newberg, OR
• Holmatro rescue equipment
• Thanks to Chris Mills
• BLACKHAWK!
• Small Pry tool
• Tualatin Valley Fire Rescue