TV Footage of Vehicle Airbag Injuring Fireman

[jack10562 414]

During an extrication the vehicle's air bag deploys unexpectedly, injuring emergency personnel working on a victim.

What does anyone do to prevent this from happening to them?

Thanks to Battalion 12, for sharing this.

[ny10570 745]

DC the battery and try to avoid cutting wiring harnesses. The guys at the Westchester FTC have a couple of other clips of guys getting caught by airbags.

[helicopper 1,050]

DC the battery and try to avoid cutting wiring harnesses. The guys at the Westchester FTC have a couple of other clips of guys getting caught by airbags.

Isn't it true that the airbag capacitor can still hold a charge, therefore still be considered a threat, even if the battery is disconnected?

From a law enforcement perspective, try to avoid "cutting" anything until you have the opportunity to confer with the PD on scene - there may be evidentiary considerations! Obviously, some things may need to be done immediately in the interests of safety but, in most cases, you still have time to find out if the accident is going to be investigated as a crime scene.

[Guest]

I saw this video in Osha in the spring for steering wheel we have a cover . This i believe is the passenger side which as far as i know all you can do is disconnect the battery and wait for the charge to discharge which is several minutes in some cars. Other then that you need to be careful and keep as many people away from the car as possible . Just my .02 some one else may have heard of others ideas on this

Edited November 17, 2008 by JHK3605

[JetPhoto 626]

These days some vehicles have dual airbags 1 goes off on the primary impact and the 2nd is supposed to go off on asecondary impact

[STAT213 332]

Battery disconnection is the best way to disable these things. They do still hold a charge, so be careful operating around them. Assume they are everywhere.

As for the covers you can put on the steering wheel, they should not be used b/c they become a projectile and can make the situation worse.

All of this information comes from the class: The Scene of the Accident.

[mfkap 0]

When the side and curtain airbags first came out, they were mechanical, and not electronic as the front airbags were. So, in a car that was disconnected for a week, if you hit the B-pillar the wrong way the airbag could still deploy.

Watching the video, the front parking lights appear to be on, which would mean the battery is still connected.

As for the dual airbags, I assume that you are talking about dual-stage airbags. They are a single airbag that has 2 charges inside, and most new cars have them. They aren't for secondary impacts, they are for a single impact, but allow the airbag to inflate differently based on the weight of the occupant and the severity of the impact. There are occasions where only one of the charges can deploy, and the other one remains life behind the already-deflated airbag. This should usually only occur during smaller impacts where extrication would be unlikely, but since when do things work correctly? You can see http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/Univer...-/19$32424 for more info on Dual-stage airbags.

With electric cars, 8-airbag cars, CNG cars, and dozens of different "safety" features found in cars these days, they are more and more dangerous to cut. Aggressive cutting is a lot more risky than it was 10 years ago. While cutting is sometimes required, technique is even more important now than it was. I have seen a few jobs where half the cuts were either in the wrong place or totally unneeded. I was on a job a few months ago where the local FD was unable (or to be politically correct, "had difficulty") to extricate a patient from a vehicle, and the Greenburgh rescue team was able to do it in short order. I think it has become a specialty similar to confined space or haz-mat, and the services in general should be moving towards special units for extrication calls much like a trench rescue. A bunch of volunteers who do it once or twice a year cannot and should not be expected to stay up to date on an increasingly complicated specialty.

[Guest jbgfd314]

Auto extrications are more difficult than ever before. It is very important to disconnect the battery as early as you can into an operation. This gives those air bag sensors time to de-energize themselves. Also make sure if the vehicle has a key fob it is taken a good distance away from the vehicle to further prevent the energizing of the unit. Also before cutting with any extrication tools ensure that the interior area that you are operating on doesn't have any hidden cyclinders for the air bag system and know the type of vehicle your operating on - standard or hybrid.