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MVAs and Cutting Battery Cables.
What is your department's protocol on cutting battery cables on an MVA scene. I know that if you're doing cutting and extrication, it's a no brainer.
However, what about the BS call when there's minimal damage to the car and the person is complaining of neck and back pain? In order to remove the person, we have to put personnel inside the vehicle. Should we take the extra step to cut the battery cables even on a fender bender? Is it safe to put personnel inside the vehicle with undeployed airbags? What are your thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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The car is still energized with just the key out. The high energy main cables from the trunk to the engine compartment are what is extremely dangerous. The ground fault sensor is just that, a sensor, could work... may not. the thing is in a minor accident, the main disconnect for the auto shop is the FD's only way to control the high-energey power. Oh yea don't forget the 12v battery in the engine compartment, that is a completely seperate electrical hazard.
I know some cars that will run without the key in the ignition for valet situations, so removing the key alone is a poor choice of FD control.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Brewer on
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My guys we only cut them if we have too. Most times I carry a pair of chennel lock pliers in my gear that i use to dissconect them. I am allso a part time tow truck driver and for the most part we never hook cables back up. Theres a reson they were dissconnected so we leave them that way.
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Permalink Reply by frank white on
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i have heard that u dont cut a able on a hybrid because there is to much voltage in one and it could kill u
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Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on
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In my FD, at an MVA w/ entrapment we double cut the battery cables(meaning cut out a section of each cable to avoid the 2 ends touching). At an MVA w/o entrapment(minor fender benders), we simply disconnect the battery cables from the terminals. Our goal is to protect lives and property, even vehicles. We try to do minimal and only necessary damage whenever we can.
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Permalink Reply by JOSEPH MONTONDO on
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i cannot believe that there is a department out there that puts battery cables before the safety of personel or the speedy and safe extrication of a pt. always double cut the cables is our policy. if i have a fireman use a tool on a vehicle the first one better be cable cutters on the battery cables or he wont be doing rescue untill he has a refresher on vehicle extrication sog's. if your dept dont disconnect the cables or its not wrote in our policy i suggest watching the dayton ohio incident. very good training tool. oh and im sure they said it wouldnt happen to them sometime before it did. firefighters be safe out there.
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i cannot believe that there is a department out there that puts battery cables before the safety of personel or the speedy and safe extrication of a pt. always double cut the cables is our policy. if i have a fireman use a tool on a vehicle the first one better be cable cutters on the battery cables or he wont be doing rescue untill he has a refresher on vehicle extrication sog's. if your dept dont disconnect the cables or its not wrote in our policy i suggest watching the dayton ohio incident. very good training tool. oh and im sure they said it wouldnt happen to them sometime before it did. firefighters be safe out there.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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Joseph, I don't think anyone is arguing about disconnection of batteries.
I think the differences are coming up about cutting versus disconnecting.
I've posted in my original response about why I won't cut, but do disconnect.
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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Cutting cables is seen in my service as carrying risk itself. We disconnect.
As Lutan has pointed out, he's had the need to reconnect a battery so that electric seats can be utilised. That needs to be a consideration with so many cars these days. Cut the cable and you cant't reconnect the power.
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I would also like to add that with some of the new hybrid vehicles, cutting the wrong cable is a greater risk than some of the airbags firing and even after the cables are cut off, many cars will still hold a charge if the anything is still plugged in(ignition keys, cell phone chargers, GPS's, etc...) and you must also remove the key fobs from the immediate area. If the keys are within a certain area of the vehicle, the car will continue to be hot from the capacitors that hold enough of a charge to hurt one of us. The answer is to learn these vehicles!
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and you must also remove the key fobs from the immediate area. If the keys are within a certain area of the vehicle, the car will continue to be hot from the capacitors that hold enough of a charge to hurt one of us.
Huh?
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Permalink Reply by Gary Stevenson on
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Just use common sense... but I know sometimes it's not so common.
If you feel there is a risk to you, your people, or the PT with un-deployed airbags potentially deploying, do what's safe. If you don't need to cut because the PT isn't critical or seriously hurt, implement some customer service. Take the 30 seconds to disconnect the battery instead of cutting the cables, minimizing the additional damage you do to the person's vehicle. Like chocking the vehicle instead flattening all the tires, if you don't have to.
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Permalink Reply by John Dobson on
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Also if we cut it we double cut or remove the battery from the vehicle.
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