The Pillars of Vehicle Rescue: The Mindset and The Technique
Part 2
By Dave Dalrymple
Photo above courtesy Ashley Lopez, Ocala (FL) Fire-Rescue
Responders must remember that the mindset of vehicle rescue is a medical intervention. Although our focus must indeed be upon our patient, we cannot bring the crushed Hyundai to the ED with patient in it. As technical experts in the discipline of extrication, we need to disentangle our patient and hand over to EMS to continue prehospital care en route to the appropriate medical facility.
It is vital we create a pathway to remove our patient from the vehicle to be transported by EMS. This is called “spacemaking,” or making/creating space. We might need space initially to access the patient, then different space to disentangle the patient from the vehicle. The days of performing a door pop or displacement as your access and removal space are gone. With smaller vehicle size and the fact that today’s vehicle absorb energy, small vehicle become even smaller, thereby makes our space creation more difficult and decreasing our time parameter. Remember, too, that today’s vehicle structures are tougher to cut and break. Responders must think outside of the box to get time back on our side of the patient’s “Golden Hour”! Power hydraulic rescue tools have become smaller yet faster. These tools are lighter in weight and more ergonomic—the type of equipment we only dreamed of 10 years ago. The biggest strides have come from the battery-powered, self-contained hydraulic rescue tools. Yes, newer tools will help us keep up with vehicles on the street, but new mindset and methodology is needed.
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