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Patient access
1st...Please note...I did NOT state patient extrication,,,I stated access...I took a class recently and wanted to share something that was demonstrated to us that I never knew or even thought of...We all pretty much follow the same game plan on access/extrication....We stabilize the vehicle, disable the power source and then work on the accessing....right...? Well, did you know that if the patient (vehicle operator) had anything plugged into the cigarette lighter recepticle that has any power source at all that there is enough power to trigger the airbags/seat-belt pretensioner..? It can backfeed power from a cell phone or a GPS unit or any other appliance that has a battery backup....then we have a problem.....Just thought that I would share this nugget with all....Stay safe...Keep the Faith......Paul
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Thanks for the nugget. We have used a plain 9 volt battery to deploy an airbag in training so I can see where such a device could do the same, can't say I've thought about it much before, good to know. Thanks
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Permalink Reply by Rusty Mancini on
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Thanks Paul, These are the things everyone needs to have knowledge of. Great info; and I will pass it on to others!
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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Thank you very much Paul. I never heard of that, but I haven't taken an extrication course since before cell phones and things like that got popular. I will definately share this with my dept. Thanks again and stay safe brother!!!!
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Permalink Reply by MInnFIrefighter on
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Good info, thanks
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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Thanks for the info bro!
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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It actually sounds like a war story to me- is there documented proof of this?
There's been loads (and I mean laods!) of rumours surrounding airbags for so long now, that I'm cautious of any "new" one that pops up such as this....
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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I'm not aware of a documented case where this has happened. But I have taken 2 classes by different instructors and was given the same caution.
Given the fact that it takes just a few miliamps to trigger some seat belt pre-tensioners and side impact airbags, in theory it would be possible to cause activation from an aux. device (cell phone, mp3 player, GPS unit, etc), even after the vehicle battery power has been removed.
I think that while the chance would be remote, the theory is enough to justify the practice of looking for and unplugging these devices along with securing the ignition keys.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Lutan the course was taught by George Brossler of the New York State Fire Academy...I am sure if you drop him a note that he will share the same information with you...He also showed a video tape of an extrication that went sour when the airbags deployed and literally blew 2 Firefighters out of the car....both had to be treated...I feel it is better to be warned of any possibilities and prepare for the same than to get knocked on my butt and possibly hurt....But...you do as you feel is right...I'm just the messenger.....Paul
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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funny you should post this.
Just participated in a similar course and they mentioned that as well.
Great that you shared this with everyone.
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Thanks Derek...Rather than just post garbage I thought that this was rather interesting and that maybe it might help someone.....Stay safe....Always remember to keep the faith........Paul
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Hi Paul- appreciate the response. The video is more than likely the Dayton Ohio video which has been around for many years and as far as Iknow is the only one in the world that has deployed while firefighters are working a wreck.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning George, but the fact remains that there's loads of rumours and misinformation around surrounding airbag systems. I'd want to see case studies, etc, not just a presentation or presentation notes.
Whilst I haven't seen some of their stuff for a while, (And I acknowledge that while their insight is outstanding, they also don't know everything)I don't recall Ron Moore, Ron Shaw or Steve Kidd discuss this sort of warning before now. And there's no doubt that these guys are considred leaders in their field and have been well documented in terms of their knowledge.
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