Car UP a Pole- What Would You Do?

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Permalink Reply by CAPNCRNCH on July 30, 2008 at 9:43am

I would have no problem setting up a step ladder, and fastening the car to the pole with ratchet straps, after we find out for sure if that is a power line or guide wire on the ground .

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Permalink Reply by Michael Bates on August 4, 2008 at 5:57pm

about a year ago we came upon an accident similiatr to this. the car was nose down with the roof a gainst the tree. one ejection with head truama (12 yr old boy) about 100 feet from the vehicle further down an embankment. two more children in rear seat(child seats) one was fine the other had hit his head on something. mother(front passenger )unconcious on arrival hanging out of window, father (driver) concious alert and attending to mother/wife. vehicle had flipped end over end several times. vehicle came to rest about 200 feet from where it entered thick woods. looked liked it hit center divider with tire then shot across 3 lanes entering apaved pull off used by road dept trucks hitting a small pile of dirt and launching into air. speed est 70 mph posted speed limit is 65 . the tree the car was leaning against was growing out of the side of a 10-15 foot drop off, with the delaware river below that.we stabilized the car with rescue jacks and ratcheted them to the tree. we wer able to remove the victims without any use of rescue tools.the vehicle was actually wedged in such a manner btween two trees that it was pretty stable.additionally i used a piece of chain and a comalong from the front suspension arm to the tree as well. all of the victims were flown via various medevacs in our area i am unsure of the condition of all victims from that point.

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on August 4, 2008 at 6:07pm

Awesome job! I don't suppose anyone got photos?

these are the sort of extricaitons we need photos and videos of- they're fantastic learning scenarios, etc...

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Permalink Reply by FVFD36 on August 5, 2008 at 1:49am

This is an interesting rescue for sure!
Well first of all, I would ask where is the other vehicle/vehicles involved?
Report # of vehicles involved and call for additional units if needed.
Is there any fuel leaking from the car? Set up a charged line!
Is the battery damaged and is it prone to sparking?
How many patients in this car? What are their injuries?
Talk to driver and try to keep him/her calm and advise to wait for FD secure the vehicle.
Are there any power lines down? If yes, what is their proximity to the vehicle? Is it safe to continue with rescue or wait for power crew to cut off power.
If this was within our city limits, I would call for a City Backhoe and bring its bucket up to the front wheels and secure the car frame to the bucket with the pole in between.
I would setup at least one Rescue jack to the passenger side B-pillar for additional
support
Is patient able to crawl down into back seat? This would make it easier to get victim out of vehicle.
Is patient injured and unable to move from drivers seat?
Our RESCUE 2 is an F350 dually and has a very large tool box bed. I would position it right up next to the drivers side so that it can be used as a platform to extricate patient.

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Permalink Reply by T.J. on August 30, 2008 at 12:38am

I'd secure it just the way it is and then use the flat bed tow truck there to get me up in the air to open the door, but I would NOT lean anything on the car fearing it just MIGHT fall:)

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Permalink Reply by Asst Chief Tim Cook on January 29, 2009 at 6:49pm

This is EASY! Cut the pole,hehe T.C.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on May 25, 2009 at 5:06pm

Ensure that the pole isn't energized first.

Secure the rear bumper from sliding rearwards by either driving pickets or wedging it with cribbing, wedges, step chocks, or a combination.

Use ladders to gain the elevation needed to ratchet strap the front of the car to the pole. Use a tensioned buttress system (Rescue 42 Telecribbing, Junkyard Dogs, ResQJacks, Alpha Crutches, Paratechs, etc.) to bridge the voids, starting as high as you can reach and putting in at least three struts per side.

Work from platforms such as the Hurst LRP3 Rescue Platform and extricate.

Have a high directional point and vertical lowering capability ready to lower the patient once free and packaged, or work from carefully-places rollback wreckers, or both.

Have the power company present, shut down the grid if necessary, and have a safety officer watching for signs that the pole is re-energized with a Hot Stick or similar device.

Place patient in ambulance or helicopter and transport.

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Permalink Reply by Asst Chief Tim Cook on May 29, 2009 at 10:42pm

I think a Platform Ladder would be useful here. Both to get you high enough to secure the car to the pole,then to extricate the occupants.Of course we could always do it "my "way.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on June 1, 2009 at 7:47pm

True, but "my" way doesn't require an extra vehicle like a wrecker or a tower ladder.
I have nothing against either, but they're not as common as rescue vehicles for the average department.

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Permalink Reply by Asst Chief Tim Cook on June 1, 2009 at 10:05pm

Methinks you'd need the Rescue platform(Lrp3) on the Rollback.You're going to come up a little "short" if you don't. Average deck height is 48-54" depending on chassis. Why THREE struts per side if you have the top and bottom secured? What are you going to use for your directional?

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on June 1, 2009 at 10:14pm

Three struts per side is based on the principle that "More points of contact equals better stability". If you only use 4 points of contact and one slips or shifts, the vehicle is no longer stable. If you use 6 and one slips or shifts, you still have one more than the minimum.

You don't need a directional if you use opposing struts. ResQJacks, Rescue 42 Telecribbing and Alpha Crutches all let you hook the opposing ratchet straps together as the directional.

The LRP3 will help get to the lower parts of the wreck like the back window. You might be able to do this extrication by a rear window entry and a reverse landau cut without needing the extra height.

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Permalink Reply by Asst Chief Tim Cook on June 2, 2009 at 10:09pm

Ben, I was more interested in where/how you were going to hook your high directional for lowering.Since we only have one set of struts,it's them or another method for the triangulation.Lower window with a flatbed easy meat but if you opt to use a side door for anything(access or other) you'll probably need some more stuff.

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