TERC Teaches Vehicular Rescue(posted Aug 23) Transportation Emergency Rescue Committee President Marv McCammon is quick to correct the public's misconception when they see the jaws of life twisting metal away from wrecked car to rescue an entrapped or entangled victim. "We don't rip people out of cars. We did away with that 20 years ago. We remove the car from the patient," he said. The TERC challenge is about educating firefighters proper extrication methods through competitive challenges. The reward is spreading the education to others. Wayne Township Fire Department hosted the event which prevented them from competing in the series. Twenty teams from Canada, Sweden, and the US engaged in a four day competition August 22- 25 to engage in a ten step process when dealing with victims entangled or entrapped in a mangled vehicle. The extrication team is judged by its medical practice, tool usage, and command control. Mark Staggs of the Wayne Township Fire Department said vehicular rescues are now requiring a plan of assigned tasks similar to when a battalion chief sets a plan to extinguish a fire. Vehicular rescue has evolved from a time where the first man off the truck grabbed the jaws of life. Now there is a defined plan. The team members are assigned to tools, checking fluids and patient rescue. The judges check to see if the team is working together or against one another. The victims are microphoned so the judges can evaluate the conversation between the paramedic and victim. "They are looking for key words and phrases," he said. The teams are judged on the 20 minute rescue events with and without the use hydraulics tools. According to Steve Cavaleri, the event's co-chair, "It is the mandate of TERC to further the education of vehicular rescue." He explained the teams stand around to watch not only to assess their competition, but to learn new ideas to take back to the company. The non-hydraulic event trains rescue teams' tactic with hand tools. Teams need to be prepared in case a power tool breaks or the entangled person is in an "at risk" position to use the tool. The hydraulic tools are not the best choice around the post by the windshield if the patient is nearby. The power tool causes the post to pop when cutting through it. This could cause additional injuries to the patient. "Lots of times the hydraulic way is the inappropriate way," Stags said. Stags has won the regional competition twice for Wayne Township. Captain Robert Joyner of Columbia, South Carolina said his simulated rescue of three hazards dealing with a pole through the roof and live wires was not as bad as a real incident that his team was dispatched to. He noted the incident involved 12 hazards when a septic tank truck crashed, taking out three utility poles. The accident also involved a gas main and water main plus 350 gallons of septic fluid running down the road. If that wasn't enough, the diesel fuel started leaking on the driver during the rescue. Cavaleri noted that Wayne Township Fire Department has its own hazardous material team. He said they are called out to contain fluid spills in their district. The spill must be reported to IDEM. He said it is not unusual for IDEM to come to scene to monitor the situation. McCammon said the hazards have to be addressed first before they can approach the car to stabilize it or to help the victim. Modern vehicle safety features often throw a wild card into the rescue before assisting the patient. McCammon explained car safety has made vehicular rescue more risky especially with the advent of air bags. One of the first things to do is disconnect the car battery to deactivate the airbags if they failed to deploy during the crash. The airbag canister carries about about 3,000 to 5,000 psi. "If that was cut into, it would explode possibly injuring the patient and rescuer." He noted some cars have up to 18 airbags. Even if the battery is disconnected, rescuers must check to see if cell phones or DVD players are plugged into the lighter outlets that could send enough current that could activate the airbag canister. McCammon started TERC in 1989 after participating in the games in Canada in 1988. He realized the invaluable learning experience from the competition needed to be shared. TERC was started in Canada in 1984. He noted that equipment manufacturers come to the challenge to observe. Tools are always being developed and improved to cut down on rescue time. Shawn Gault, dba The Glove Lady, said her company is picking up a new line of firefighting and extricating gloves along with other apparel and safety glasses. Kevin Lohmeier and Ed Whittington came from Roscoe, Illinois to tout their patent pending solution to prevent firefighters and victims from being cut on jagged metal. Whittington explained that using blankets to cover glass and sharp edges only hides the potential risk of being cut, while their Xtricap actually protects the firefighters and victim with a rubber-like mat. Lohmeier described the product. He said "a specially-prepared sheet of lead is laminated inside tough layers of Nitrile rubber." Lohmeier selected lead because it does not create sparks. Sparks could ignite a fire around flammable materials. He noted the mat molds into any shape within seconds. It also has a resistance of 340 to 500 degrees. The longer rubber mats can serve as funnel to help with diverting hazardous material from the scene. This is how the two developed the company name Divert-a-flow. |
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