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2006 Stratham VFD Extrication Program
Photos
All photos on this page
are the property of the Stratham VFD.
Stratham Fire Department members go over the
previous scenario and prepare the next with Extrication.Com instructors Terry
Salvi and Ron Shaw.
Extrication.Com instructor stands behind a
working chief, Robert Law. All of the Stratham FD personnel, including line and
chief officers participated in the hands-on evolutions in Stratham. This
re-enforces the concept of how can you know the limitations of your personnel
unless you too walk in their shoes.
Members used a Milwaukee 18V cordless metal
cutting circular saw with a carbide tipped blade to cut the roof off this sedan.
The vehicle was shored using mechanical struts specifically designed for
passenger vehicles.
One of the greatest issues we need to overcome in
the emergency services is to know when to re-assess the effectiveness of a tool
for a given task. And, if there is a need to continue with a task when the work
you have completed is sufficient. Team leaders and the IC need to evaluate
the effectiveness of a task since most responders become so involved they loose
track of time.
Members are instructed in the proper way to
immobilize and stabilize a vehicle in preparation for lifting a passenger
vehicle. Two crib stacks are positioned on either side of the lift bags with the
starter course of each stack opposed to each other to help maintain constant
contact with wedges and the frame as the vehicle ascends or descends with the
lift bags.
Over the years while teaching vehicle extrication
I have seen airbag failures. One event catastrophically causing the vehicle to
suddenly drop onto the cribbing. Another the lift bags popped out from the
vehicle. You can see in this photo that we observe a hazard zone in the form of
cone 45-degrees from the centerline of the bag extending outward for a distance
of 20-feet for these high pressure bags.
By the end of the Stratham program most of the
members having taken our program before were ready for more complex scenarios
such as this evolution evolving a driver side entrapment with the vehicle on its
side.
Part of the Statham training involved an
evolution emulating a real life scenario that the department had to respond for
a mutual aid assist.
While vehicles inverted appear more involved,
they are often easier in terms of extrication.
Vehicles in unusual positions pose stability
issues, here the Stratham FD members quickly stabilized this vehicle in place
using heavy duty ratchet straps, step blocks, cribbing, wedges and Airshore
struts.
NOTE: All photos on this page are the property of the Stratham NH Volunteer Fire Department, permission must be given for reproduction.
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