by: Mark van der Feyst

Whenever dealing with vehicle accidents, here are a few items to consider.

The Isolation Zone

In both vehicle extrication and hazardous materials situations, setting up your different work zones are important. These zones help with maintaining and isolating the initial problem. The three common zones that we have all been taught are the hot zone, the warm zone and the cold zone. The cold zone is the last zone between the situation and the general public. A fourth zone should also be established called the Isolation Zone. This zone acts as a buffer zone between the situation and the general public. It also allows for scene expansion and also for running room for the just in case moments. Whenever you are setting up your zones, be sure to establish an Isolation Zone.   

HID lights

Many new cars today are being outfitted with new technology such as HID lights. HID lights are High Intensity Discharge head lamps that provide bright light for all times of the day or night for driving purposes. The light replicated by these headlamps resemble the brightness of the sun at noon time. Essentially these lights are an arc light using less energy to produce a brighter light. The danger with these lights is when the vehicle has been in a collision or accident and the responding fire department has to work on the vehicle. These lights can and will electrocute a firefighter because of the amount of power that resides in them.  A HID light takes 12 volts from the vehicle and steps it up to 25,000 volts – this is where the danger comes in. As taught to me by Matt Stroud, do not stand in front of HID lights or any head lights for that matter to ensure that you are not in the danger zone of these potential lethal hazards.      

Popping the door with webbing        

When we are extricating a person from a vehicle and we have to force open a passenger door, there is a large amount of potential energy waiting to be released when the door does give way. We have been taught to use our body by leaning backwards into the door while the other firefighter operates the hydraulic tool. Instead we can avoid bodily injury that can result from that technique and use webbing to aid us. Webbing can be wrapped around the car post and the door post at the same time using just a girth hitch. As the door is being forced open, the girth hitch will also loosen with the operation allowing the door to travel its needed direction but will contain the door from flying open when the door is finally released. This also keeps the other firefighter back away from the operation and not right up close getting in the way.

Popping the door with a squash/tennis ball

When forcing open a passenger door on a vehicle, the toughest part of the operation is getting the door to separate from the Nader bolt. This latch can be a burden on the firefighter who is trying to open the door with a set of hydraulic tools. We try with the spreaders and we also will resort to using the cutters to cut through. One simple trick that was shown to me was the use of a squash/tennis ball or a similar ball. The squash/tennis ball can be wedged underneath the door handle allowing the door handle to remain in the open position. By doing this, it releases the door’s latch from the Nader bolt making the door easier to open with the tools.       

About the Author

Mark van der Feyst is a 25 year veteran of the fire service and is currently the Senior Battalion Chief at the Six Nations Fire & Emergency Services in Canada and a part time firefighter with the Fort Gratiot Fire Department in Michigan. He has worked in both the USA and Canada for various fire departments and holds a Masters of Science degree in Safety, Security & Emergency Management from Eastern Kentucky University.