Safe Extrication Evolutions

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the U.S. is home to the largest passenger vehicle market in the world, with more than 254 million registered passenger vehicles. So it should come as no surprise that, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2010 there were approximately 5.4 million motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) annually on our roadways-resulting in approximately 33,000 fatalities and 2.2 million injuries. Given these staggering statistics, it is essential that emergency responders be able to safely respond to and survive these events, particularly in dealing with lengthy roadway operations such as vehicle extrications.

Initial Response

Safety starts with our initial response. Unfortunately, according to the NHTSA and the U.S. Fire Administration, nearly 30,000 annual collisions involve fire department apparatus and approximately 20—25% of our line of duty deaths (LODDs) continue to be a result of motor vehicle collisions. The adage of “arrive alive” applies for all fire service personnel, and should include a strict adherence to seatbelt utilization, refraining from excess speeds and performing full stops at intersections to assure they are cleared and it is safe to proceed.

Upon arrival at a collision and extrication scene, safe apparatus placement is paramount. Ensure that placement is a safe distance behind the collision, as well as between the flow of traffic and the crashed vehicles. Blocking two lanes of traffic, particularly on roadways that have more than four lanes, adds an additional measure of protection. If at all practical, adding an additional apparatus to serve as a “scene blocking unit” affords your personnel operating on the incident roadway the highest degree of safety.

On Scene

Full size-up of the scene is imperative to formulating an extrication approach and plan. Scene size up should include close examination of the vehicle and its safety restraint and air bag systems. Once an extrication plan is devised, clearly communicating the plan to all members on scene is essential.

Prior to undertaking an extrication, consider deploying a charged hoseline as well as a dry chemical extinguisher to protect responders and the victim(s) from flash fire. In addition, all personnel must operate with full PPE, including bunker gear with reflective areas, helmets, gloves and eye protection.

Vehicle stabilization is necessary for all extrications and the approach is limited only by your resources and requirements to assure controlled stabilization will be achieved and maintained through the extrication and vehicle removal. Once stabilization has been achieved, disconnecting the battery/power source further assures the safety of your crew. Specifically, disconnecting the battery ensures that fuel and fuel fumes will not be ignited by a battery power spark and the safety restraint system’s power source is neutralized.

Safe Extrications

Extrication approaches vary based on your situational needs, equipment and approach. Regardless of your tactics and strategy, ensuring that the victim(s) and your personnel are safe throughout the operations is paramount. This can be best monitored with the utilization of an overall scene safety officer who can monitor safety practices, situational awareness and changing conditions and respond accordingly.

As responders, we execute on scene the same way that we plan and train. Extrications can range from simple to highly complicated and technical. Safety is pivotal in all extrication evolutions and requires regular and frequent training to assure that all responders are well prepared with their safety knowledge and extrication scene management. As crash statistics have shown, it is often a question of when, not if, we will be involved in a MVC. Our goal needs to be to prepare so that our involvement in a MVC, both while traveling in a vehicle and while working on the road, is not a foregone conclusion.