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Tactical Guidelines ~ Rescue Guidelines for Air Bag Equipped Vehicles
Tactical Guidelines ~ Rescue Guidelines for Air Bag Equipped Vehicles
This suggested guideline establishes fire department procedures for operating around vehicles equipped with air bags. An air bag is designed to supplement the protection offered by safety belts. In a frontal impact of sufficient severity, sensors in the vehicle detect the sudden deceleration and trigger the inflator, principally sodium azide, to undergo a rapid chemical reaction. This reaction produces nitrogen gas. The gas inflates a woven nylon bag packed inside the steering wheel hub or the instrument panel for the splitting open its protective cover, and inflating in front of the vehicles front seat occupants. As the occupants contacts the bag, the nitrogen gas is vented through openings in the bag, which helps to cushion the forward movement of the vehicles passenger(s).
The following recommendations have been taken from the U.S. Department of Transportation, National HIghway Traffic Administration.
INCIDENT WITH FIRE:
First use normal fire extinguishing procedures but pay attention to the following "rescue" situations.
Advanced air bags with in-dash supression warning light
INCIDENT WITH A DEPLOYED AIR BAG:
- Use normal rescue procedures and equipment.
- Do not delay medical attention.
- DEPLOYED AIR BAGS ARE NOT DANGEROUS
- However, they do produce dust that may cause minor skin or eye irritation which can be prevented by:
- Wearing gloves and eye protection
- Keeping the dust away from the patients eyes and wounds
- Removing gloves and washing hands after exposure to the dust
INCIDENT WITH AN UNDEPLOYED AIR BAG:
An undeployed air bag is unlikely to deploy after a crash. Most incidents will not require rescuers to work in what would be the deployment oath of the air bag; therefore, rescue operations can begin without delay.
In those rare instances when someone is pinned directly behind an undeployed air bag, special precautions should be followed which include:
- Disconnect battery cables.
- Avoid placing your body or objects against the air bag module, or in what would be the deployment path of the air bag.
- Do not mechanically displace or cut through the steering column until after the system has been fully deactivated.
- Do not cut or drill into the air bag module.
- Do not apply heat in the area of the steering wheel hub.
In the event a car equipped with an air bag is to be used for training purposes, the air bag needs to be deployed prior to the exercise. The bag should be deployed following the manufacturers recommendations which are listed in the owners manual.
Associated Head Injuries:
In situations where there has been an accident with sufficient force to consider airbag deployment, the patient in many cases will have suffered some degree of head injury. Appropriate C-Spine precautions, vitals and neurological checks coupled with a full understanding of the mechanics of injury will enable hospital personnel to fully grasp the potential for serious injury and will provide appropriate care levels.
Please feel free to add your comments and suggestions to make this discussion post a better "boiler plate" SOG for Air Bags in Vehicles!
Train as if it was real, because someday... it will be...
CBz
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on
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Two quick additions which I'm sure most know but if not a quick reminder is in order. 1/ after disconnecting battery cables ground the cables to discharge energy which may be present in system capacitors. This voltage may be sufficient to discharge air bags and can remain in the system for a substantial period of time waiting to bite you. 2/ insure that the cables will not accidentally reestablish a connection, after you have disconnected them, either by taping the end or cutting a length of cable off so it is no longer long enough to reach the terminal and reestablish a connection. There is no guarantee you have eliminated all sources of electrical energy ,that will depend upon various models but these are two good general rules to follow. Thanks for the great thread, looking forward to other hints. Stay safe.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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As always, your input is invaluable Roy.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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More additional points on air-bag equipped vehicles:
1) Cell phones or other electronic devices plugged into the car's 12-volt system can feed batter power back into the vehicle system after the car battery connections have been eliminated. Ensure that all cell phones, video game consoles, MP-3 players, etc. are unplugged from the vehicle. In some cases, this could involve checking several plug locations. My vehicle has four - two in the dashboard, one in the center console between the driver and front passenger seat, and one on the right side of the rear cargo area behind the 3rd-row seat.
2) Don't assume that a deployed air bag can't redeploy. Some vehicles are equipped with a two-stage air bag, and these can redeploy. These are designed to protect the occupants in secondary collisions, but if the vehicle only hit a deer (instead of hitting a deer, then a tree) then it is possible that the airbag could redeploy if extrication activities short out the trigger electronics.
3) Always strip the interior cover from any roof post or side roofline before you cut through it. If you don't remove the interior trip panels, you may cut into a side impact air bag system, a side air curtain system, or the pyrotechnic charge for a seat belt pretensioner.
Additional information on rescue from SRS-equipped vehicles can be found here, here, and here.
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