Extrication Information - Where do you Start?
There is no doubt that the internet is a wonderful source of information for just about everything you can think of, including technical rescue. Just type 'extrication' into a popular search engine and away you go. At the risk of sounding very old, when I started in the fire and rescue service over 20 years ago the internet didn't exist. Instead I had to manage with a few select books and local policies written by my own rescue service. So surely the world wide web is a good thing right?
Misinformation and Disinformation
Well, yes, but we must also consider that along with information we also get 'misinformation' (false or inaccurate information that is spread unintentionally). There is also 'disinformation' (false or inaccurate information that is spread intentionally). I regularly witness both of these when I read about extrication online. An example of this is the following quote from an article published in september 2012.
"....manufacturers of hydraulic rescue tools in 2009 found that none of their cutters worked with AHSS"
(AHSS is the abbreviation of Advanced High Strength Steel - ID)
This statement is simply untrue (See the video on my previous blog) . Moreover it makes rescuers apprehensive, when they should have faith in their equipment. Of course there are many reasons for misinformation and disinformation and the difficulty here is to know what to believe.
How do you make decisions based on the information and data available?
As I have already said, knowing where to find quality information is difficult. Once you find it, do you believe it? Or is it actually relevant?
From the source
Finally, a few years ago I was asked about dual stage airbags (vehicle airbags with 2 stage deployment depending on severity of impact) and the risks they pose on scene. The common held belief was that there was the potential for an airbag to deploy a second time during the rescue. I read many articles on line, mostly contradictory. So what did I do? I contacted www.autoliv.com and asked them.
One of their engineers (Henrik Kaar) emailed me with the following information:
"There is a disposal firing of the unused second stage from 150 milliseconds to 30 seconds after the firing of the first stage.....The firing of the unused second stage can be performed by the electrical airbag controller and/or by a controlled sympathetic ignition (energy from first stage deployment that ignites second stage)"
In short, Autoliv who design and supply most of the worlds airbags (and other safety systems) are saying that a dual stage airbags cannot deploy twice. This is because during the inital stage of deployment the unused second stage is also fired, thus rendering it safe.
Where possible, always try and get information direct from the source!
As always I welcome your feedback.
Ian