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Dear Reader - Firstly may we wish you a safe and prosperous 2008. We have freshened up our banner and are all geared up and enthusiastic to make the Rescue news letter more informed and enlightening.  In this issue we continue with the serialised study documents on extrication and undeployed SRS and on-board hydrogen vehicles. We also profile Vic Calland's 'Safety At Scene'.  If you haven't yet looked at our eBooks 'RTC Extrication Rescue' and 'Crash Rescue' you can access the schematics at www.resqmed.com/eBook-RTC.htm and  www.resqmed.com/CR.htm - respectively. For now I wish you all well and good fortune l -  Len Watson editor -  [ FEEDBACK ] - 

..../.. Working with Live SRS

In previous papers in this series we have asked you for comment and feedback,  The articles have generated much interest and now, due the the enormous response, we would ask readers to limit their questions to specific content contained in the current issue only.  Please be patient and we will address all eMails in the course of time. Readers views, comments and information are always most welcome and gives purpose and helps to fine tune our information release.

In Last month's issue we discussed risk critical information when removing the roof on a 4dr estate car/station wagon with intact undeployed SIPS which included head protection systems (air curtains). In this issue we continue in a similar vein where we will analyse a 4dr car that comes to rest on-its-roof after a severe frontal collision.

As always we would advise all new readers that this article is one in a series and, to gain a complete understanding, it is necessary to begin by reading ISSUE 10 – 16  ‘Rescue with live undeployed SRS systems’ before continuing to read this issue – Click [HERE] to begin.

4 door car - Inverted Side Removal - unable to disconnect the battery 

History - Single vehicle crash - front 1/4 oblique impact - The 4dr car has had a 40% front off centre pointed impact with a tree and has ended up on its roof, nose down on roadway. The front road wheel and suspension have been shoved backwards into the front footwell restricting the available space where the casualty's lower limbs and feet are located. The casualty is suspended up-side-down held by the seatbelt.

The steering wheel airbag and driver's pretensioner have deployed - The front passenger airbag and all SIPS (front seat mounted airbags, air curtains) and all the remaining pretensioners remain undeployed - The vehicle's battery is under the bonnet/hood and cannot be accessed - The driver is trapped in situ.

The car's roof posts have remained relatively intact, the up-side-down driver's legs are positioned either side of the steering wheel and column with his pelvis and abdomen supported by the steering wheel. 

Risk assessment - As with all crashes it is essential that we risk assess the scenario and the vehicle itself. This series of articles does not busy itself with the ins and outs of scene management but rather Initial in-vehicle risk assessment with a view to performing an extrication. Never the less, suffice it to say that risks must always be controlled and managed safely.

The in-vehicle survey must determine -

•  Whether the battery can or cannot be disconnected - The inspection will indicate the location of the battery, if it can be disconnected or whether the vehicle has to be worked on with an energised power supply
• Ensure that the ignition is switched off and that the key/transponder is removed a safe distance from the vehicle (5 metres -15 feet). Before this is done, where possible open electric windows and adjust seats as appropriate.
• Where possible, pry/expose and Identify all undeployed SRS modules, connector plugs and cylinders.

To fully familiarise yourself with the parameters set for this exercise, please take the time to ingest and comprehend fully the History of the scenario.

While the in-vehicle survey is being performed, all suitable risk control measures must be initiated, implemented at the appropriate time and strictly enforced.

Casualty status - Read carefully - To add to our dilemma, the driver is unconscious.  Although breathing, the mechanisms of injury intimate possible spinal and pelvic injury.  For those of you who have tended to a casualty in such a predicament, particularly paramedics, you will be aware of the grave consequences if this situation is handled badly.  The outcome of this type of situation is very much dependant in quality immediate care intervention and professional extrication.

Extrication Detail - Working with live SIP systems

Inverted Side Removal (door opening/forcing and cutting away the centre post complete with the rear door)

1.) Perform glass management -  When removing tempered glazing use soft protection. It is unnecessary to remove laminated door glass

2.) Open/force front and rear doors

3.) PRY BEFORE YOU CUT.  Strip the interior trim from the centre post and inspect all installation slots for SIPS inclusion. Pin-point the exact location of the seatbelt pretensioner, sensors, connectors and system wiring – It is not always possible to locate sensors

Option 1 - Pretensioner incorporated at the base of the centre post –

Inverted Side Removal - Cutting away the centre post complete with rear door (seatbelt pretensioner) 

Option 2 - Pretensioner incorporated at the base of the centre post –

Extrication Detail - Working with live SIP systems

Inverted Side Removal (door opening/forcing and cutting away the centre post complete with the rear door)  

Option 1 - Pretensioner incorporated mid way on the centre post –

Useful sites:

Option 2 - Pretensioner incorporated mid way on the centre post – 

Additional Safety Cut

An additional safety measure can be incorporated into all these ‘Inverted side removal’ evolutions in order to prevent inadvertent deployment of the air curtain. This can be most useful in protecting paramedics crouching through the door openings administering invasive care to the casualty/ies

 IC/SIPS safety cut 

The remarkable thing is where the crash damage is different e.g. ‘side on impact’  or where the extrication has to be performed from the undamaged side of the vehicle, depending on the SIPsystem, the risk assessment can alter safety aspects of the extrication detail.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE - As with the previous Issues of the Rescue news letter, we will discuss the critical risks involved in the detail in this article. We will continue by discussing casualty extrication from the overturned car where the roof pillars have collapsed. In the meanwhile I would like to steer you towards the study document ‘Smart SRS Systems’ so you may appreciate the subtlety that these systems play on extrication. I will leave you to contemplate on this and we will discuss the pros and cons in the next issue.  

Hydrogen on-board vehicles - Continued from previous issue -

In this issue we will look at identifying potential risks in our everyday environment and the likely hazardous situations that firefighters may find themselves in.

Identifying Potentially Hazardous Situations - What we must bear in mind is that the Hydrogen on-board fuel cell vehicle (FCV) is not yet available on the open market and, in all probability, some 10 years off before we see a significant amount in circulation.  However Hydrogen as a motive power is already available and, as remote the possibility of encountering one, the firefighter must be in a position to recognise and assess the risks involved.  More so when we appreciate the significance of the initial low volume encounter and the potential hazard that may be involved.

Over reactive – I think not.  It would be nice if the motor industry gets it right, crosses all the T’s and dots all the I’s in terms of risk management, but past experience has left Rescuers with a huge measure of mistrust.

So let us begin by recognising some hazards and potential situations –

Critical Temperature – It is important to consider that hydrogen only becomes a liquid at temperatures below 20.3 K (at atmospheric pressure).  Liquid hydrogen is typically used as a practical form of storing hydrogen and is normally achieved by compression.  However compressed hydrogen storage tanks are the most popular since they don't require the super-cooling and super-insulation that liquid hydrogen does. Thus for onboard compressed hydrogen storage at 700 bar (10,000 psi) is now seen to be the preferred method. Metal hydride tanks are perhaps the future for hydrogen storage for H2 cars. Metal hydrides are specific metallic compounds and alloys that act like a sponge to both absorb and release hydrogen at consistent pressures. The life of a metal hydride storage tank is directly related to the purity of the hydrogen that is absorbed.

Like any other fuel hydrogen poses risks if not properly handled or controlled. The associated risks must be considered relative to the common fuels such as petrol, propane or natural gas. The specific physical characteristics of hydrogen are quite different from those common fuels. Some of those properties make hydrogen potentially less hazardous, while other hydrogen characteristics could theoretically make it more dangerous in certain situations.

Specific Gravity/Density - Based on the properties of hydrogen (density, viscosity and diffusion) the propensity of hydrogen to leak through holes or joints of low pressure fuel lines can be up to 2.8 times faster than a natural gas leak

Expansion Ratio - If a leak were to happen, hydrogen will disperse much faster than petrol, propane or natural gas. At face value this would seem to mitigate the hazard level much quicker. However where the gas release is contained the opposite would ensue and we would need to revisit its critical mixture  range, 4% to 74% in air, with a strong exothermic reaction.

Flammable Limits - As discussed hydrogen/air mixture can burn in relatively wide volume ratios. Other fuels have much lower flammability ranges, viz., natural gas 5.3-15%, propane 2.1-10%, and petrol 1-7.8%. In many actual leak situations the key parameter that determines if a leak would ignite is the lower flammability limit, and hydrogen’s lower flammability limit is 4 times higher than that of gasoline, 1.9 times higher than that of propane and slightly lower than that of natural gas. The question begs, is this good or bad?  This would depend on whether the leak is in a confined space or in open air. 

Detonable Limits - Hydrogen has a flame velocity 7 times faster than that of natural gas or gasoline.  A hydrogen flame would therefore be more likely to progress to a deflagration or even a detonation in comparison to petrol, propane or natural gas. However, detonation depend on a more exact fuel/air mixture, temperature and end effect relate particularly to the geometry of the confined space.

The lower detonable fuel/air ratio for hydrogen is 13%-18%, which is two times higher than that of natural gas and 12 times higher than that of gasoline. Since the lower flammability limit is 4% an explosion is possible only under the most unusual scenarios, e.g., hydrogen would first have to accumulate and reach 13% concentration in a closed space without ignition, and only then an ignition source would have to be triggered.

Should an explosion occur, the explosive energy of a given volume of hydrogen would have 22 times less explosive energy than the same volume filled with petrol vapour.  However given its much quicker evaporation and wider flammability range Firefighters must contemplate ‘what possibly could go wrong, will go wrong’.  

Firstly let us remind ourselves, hydrogen at present is odourless – A leak will not be apparent. Natural gas has a pungent smell added; think of where the public would be if it hadn’t.

Heat, naked flames, electrical sparks and static electricity easily ignite hydrogen. It will burn with a very pale blue, almost invisible flame offering off a heat shimmer at its extremities. Most hydrogen fires, although virtually invisible, will have the flame chrematistics of a torch or jet due to its rapid release and will originate at the point when the hydrogen is discharging. Please be aware, if the fire is extinguished without stopping the gas release an explosive mixture can quickly form creating a more serious hazards than the fire itself. Should re-ignition occur it could lead to a deflagration or even detonation.

Other areas of concern include -

As the vehicle burns and the temperature rises, there comes a point in time where the hydrogen release ignites and can, in certain conditions and situations, be seen to gender other risks such as deflagration and rapid fire spread e.g. –

Other considerations include pressure release valve failure or when in a collision the vehicle ends up on its roof and the vent pipe is compromised or partially blocked through crash damage.

The release of liquid/pressurised hydrogen presents another set of safety issues, such as risk of cold burns, and the effects of the duration of leaked cryogenic fuel within a confined space.

Consider - The cryogenic burn can instantly fix the hand to the area of the leak or any object within a confined space subjected to a prolonged release.

TO BE CONTINUED .../..

NEWS & VIEWS

LATE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT - During testing EuroNCAP detected some faults in Mazda 2 and Volvo V70 systems - Euro NCAP tests unearthed faults that even the manufacturers’ own safety tests failed to pick up.

During the tests of the Mazda 2, a supermini and the Volvo V70, a large family car, problems were noted with the deployment of both these cars’ airbags. In the frontal impact test of the Mazda 2, a small disturbance shortly before impact led to a delay in the firing of the airbags and protection of the front seat occupants was compromised. Although these disturbances are not part of Euro NCAP’s tests, they could occur in real life accidents. In the case of the Volvo V70, curtain airbag deployment was delayed in the side pole test.

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP stated ‘This is exactly why Euro NCAP exists: to independently evaluate the protection that these cars offer consumers and to spot just this kind of error. If there is a safety problem, we will not re-test the vehicle unless the problem is fixed.

Both manufacturers took steps to rectify the problems in their vehicles. Mazda improved the airbag control software in production cars and will contact all Mazda 2 owners, to ensure their cars are upgraded. Volvo agreed to modify production cars and to contact all V70 owners.

As a result of the commitment shown to modify the cars to the upgraded specification, both Volvo and Mazda were granted re-tests. The results released are now based on these re-tests. During the re-testing, the airbags of the Mazda 2 deployed as expected but, unfortunately, the Volvo V70’s curtain airbag again fired late. Volvo is currently investigating this issue. Readers who are concerned about their own vehicles should contact their local dealer - Visit EuroENCAP - click the link under

RESCUE NEWS ITEMS of interest around the Globe - 2007 saw a reduction in the number of deaths due to disasters around the globe over recent years.  However if we take away the death toll from the catastrophic tsunami of December 2004, figures remain relatively stable but of course this does not in any way diminish the horrific consequences of disasters. The greatest disasters of 2007, that could have been avoided, must be put at the door of war, famine, epidemic and inhumanity. Other than that, floods remain the largest killer. However, in the order of things, we must never forget our forgotten creation, road kill which far outweighs all other man-made disasters with a catastrophic toll that can only be conservatively estimated at over 600,000 souls annually.

6/11/07 Cyclone death toll in Bangladesh rises to 3447  20 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from cyclone which hit Bangladesh last Thursday night reached 3447 at 11 am Tuesday 20/11/2007, according to the Bangladesh Army disaster ... See all stories on this topic 

2/10/07 South Asia Flood Death Toll Rises to over 4000 as UN Seeks More Aid  Bloomberg – USA By Michael Heath Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from monsoon floods in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan rose to more than 4000 people and the ... See all stories on this topic

Fortunately in 2007 the world escaped major catastrophe in our skies but never-the-less plane crashes happened with major loss of life. The worst crash last year happened on July 17 at the airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (187 and 12 people on the ground). Other deadly accidents include one that happened in May when a Kenya Airways' Boeing 737-800 crashed in Douala, Cameroon, killing 114 people. On Jan. 1, 2007, an Adam Air Boeing 737-400 went down during a storm over the mountainous region of Indonesia's Sulawesi Island, killing 102 people. Phuket (74) and the Congo (54).  However, 2007 has had the fewest plane crashes since 1963: report  … See all stories on this topic 

Major accidents happened on the railways, India and the Congo being hardest hit -

31/12/2007 New Year's road accident death toll rises to 188 across Thailand
31 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from road accidents in the first three days of the so-called seven dangerous days of New Year break rose to 188, ... See all stories on this topic

Fallen Firefighters - In 2007 - 100's of firefighters lost their lives, the most notable of which were –

31/08/07 Six firefighters die battling fierce forest fire on Croatian island
International Herald Tribune - France
The body of the sixth firefighter, who went missing in the fire Thursday, was found on Friday morning at the spot. The death toll of a bush fire on Croatia's central Adriatic Kornati island rose to 11 firefighters by the Thursday, doctors in a Zagreb hospital said.

18/06/2007 - The Charleston 9, South Carolina USA Fallen Brothers

18/06/2007 - A helicopter carrying firefighters and equipment crashed killing 14 of 22 aboard.  The Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter carrying firefighters and equipment disappeared en route to a forest fire in north central Mongolia,

UK - 4 Firefighters die - Warwickshire's worst nightmare, four of their bravest killed tackling a raging fire at a massive vegetable pre-packing warehouse whilst searching for migrant workers. One fireman at the scene was understood to be mourning the loss of his son, a young fireman who had died just yards away from him - further reading [ CLICK ]

The above highlights some of the major losses in the hundreds of firefighters killed on duty in 2007.  In the USA the IAFC has heralded a 30% reduction in firefighter deaths in recent years but have flagrantly disregarded the 347 that gave their lives at 9/11.  US stats take account of heart attacks and strokes whereas in the UK on-duty firefighter deaths conveniently do not - stress and exhaustion have not been realistically evaluated or risk assessed in many other countries.  Moreover as a matter of note, the disgraceful attack on UK firefighters’ pensions in 2007, has left the more unfortunate incapacitated firefighter vulnerable to enforced retirement with no immediate pension rights. What is going on!!! – further reading [ CLICK ]

OPENING NEWS 2008 – First Firefighter deaths - Three firemen die in China office-block blaze
BEIJING (Reuters) - Three firemen were killed battling a blaze that has raged for nearly 20 hours through a 12-storey shop and office building in remote ... See all stories on this topic

ALL 2007 RESCUE NEWS ITEMS  of interest around the Globe - Only news items likely to occasion 10 or more deaths are recorder via Google search.

Safety At Scene

Rescuers may find it interesting to know that staying safe is far from underwritten by their training departments. It may surprise you to learn that, almost without exception, training departments get by offering the absolute minimum of training. 

Although in general terms Fire And Rescue Departments and Ambulance Services, as a whole, are heralded as a well organised and disciplined services, their training in many areas leave a lot to be desired. 

However in terms of Health & Safety it is generally accepted that Fire & Rescue services have got it together while Ambulance services have taken a back seat. In recognising this and in order to address this imbalance Vic Calland, a UK based 'BASICS' emergency Doctor, has written 'Safety At Scene'.

Now available on CD, this e-Book proffers good sound information that is a must for all Rescuers to have. Even veteran Firefighters will benefit from this book as it goes well beyond the norm covering such areas as training for hazardous occupations 'where people affect safety (hostage situations, violent people etc.), casualty evacuation in difficult terrain, safety considerations for collapsed buildings and confined spaces, electrical safety, sporting events and much, much more -- To view sample pages [ CLICK ]

Although the publication is ostensibly written for the UK and not specifically aimed at the Firefighter, it gives a different perspective through the eyes of an experienced emergency practitioner that will most certainly make fire officers all over the world rethink operational strategy where other rescue personnel are attending the same incident.

This manual is essentially a tactical safety guide that caters for the health professional to work safely alongside the Firefighter and Police Officer. It offers a breakdown and categorises the different aspects of hazardous involvement and different stages of rescue. 

The most common situation where the the invaluable presence of the Health Practitioner / Paramedic is required is motor vehicle entrapments. Of course the in-house / department Firefighter Paramedic is likely to lessen the health and safety implication, they never the less also require cross-platform training and a continuous development program.  Where practitioners are from a separate service this becomes doubly important.

With the introduction in 2007 in the UK of the new 'Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act', the emphasis on responsibility has altered dramatically and necessitates an immediate review of operational Health & Safety policy. All training departments are now under pressure to re-evaluate training needs and introduce a concise audit and review framework if they wish to meet their statutory obligations.

COMING NEXT ISSUE  

UK 'Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act' - How will it affect the British Fire Service - The Home Secretary has made it very clear that the new law will make it easier to identify and convict those responsible for corporate killing and corporate homicide. The Act carries much tougher penalties, even life imprisonment.

Working with live SRS - 4 door car - Collapsed roof structure - unable to disconnect the battery - We will continue by discussing casualty extrication from the overturned car where the roof pillars have collapsed.

Hydrogen On-Board Vehicles - In the next issue we will put some hypothetical cases to the reader, giving possible scenarios, firefighting actions and likely outcomes; and open it up to you for your comments. 

www.resqmed.com/DailyNewsSheet.htm

New eBooks - Crash Rescue - 'Vehicle entrapment rescue and pre-hospital trauma care' is the first book of its kind to interact the disciplines of technical and medical rescue.  Know more about 'best practice' for in-vehicle resuscitation and patient management and learn what the paramedic can reasonably expect from their attending fire department. And RTC extrication RESCUE - The most advanced manual available today.  An up to the minute technical production for Vehicle Entrapment Extrication that offers risk assessed evolutions, safety measures and alternative options that cater for the very real world of rescue - For more information click on banner image under -

Visit resQmed's Study Program - Its INFORMED and FREE and we are offering its benefits to you in the hope of encouraging you to participate in, what we believe to be, a very worthwhile platform for sharing information and keeping abreast all the new developments in rescue.  To access, click this link 

  www.resqmed.com/Study.htm