airbag training

[Steve Disick]

What do your departments do for airbag training inside the station. Mainly for low lift airbags. I have heard of some "contests" with some lumber and a glass of water for the airbag controller. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[billy]

Contests are great training. Hopefully you'll get lots of ideas. My suggestion is use the bags to lift, say your trucks. Then ensure that folks know the proper way to crib the lift. They should understand the capacities of their cribbing, and the safe height to stack such cribbing. Make sure they know advantages and disadvantages of both high pressure and low pressure air bag rescue systems. Rescuers may know a lot about lifting, however are lacking in cribbing knowledge.

[rp ruma]

we have a local junk yard bring a wrecked vehicle to our station (1), we can do many different evolutions with air-bags along with various other tools. we have also went to one of the local factorys & practiced using in that type of setting.

[Tillerman]

I agree with the posts prior, vehicles are good if you can get them but stres the importance of proper cribbing. If the airbag fails and comes down on the object you are removing then you have not done your job. We have also used airbags in Haz-Mat training. We go to the local train yard and practice patching holes in the sides of tankers using the airbags and loads of webbing. In either application we stress good communication and safety. As to inhouse training you are limited to just going over the basics or getting a few vehicles from the junk yard, and practicing raising and lowering. In any event keep the training going and stay safe.

[BC White]

Air bags are a favorite of mine. Keep in mind that lifting cars is just the start !
Keep an eye on your district for interesting challanges.
If a wooded area is being cleared, look for a heavy tree that has been cut or pushed over by a bulldozer. Lift different sections of the tree trunk, then move to the bulldozer.
Try lifting a section of concrete pipe without it rolling.
Look for objects that need to be pushed apart. Concrete blocks, units of lumber on a job site, or elevator cars.
For the firehouse, you could pull a good joke and make a good training out of it as well.
Find your favorite rear wheel drive Chief's car and lift the rear up just enough so that the tires are just off of the ground. Good solid box cribs and wedges will get it done.
Then wait. The Chief will not go far when it's time to leave. Just hope he don't miss a run (that tends to make them a little upset).

On the serious side, cribbing is a must. A combination of 2x4's, 2x6's, 4x4's, 6x6's, and wedges can make a lifting job safe.
A couple of tips:
-Crib to the point of lift (bring the bag(s) as close to the lifting point as possible).
-Keep your box cribs clean.
-Depending on the size of the object being lifted, establish 1 or more safety officers to monitor the object being lifted from different vantage points.
-Communicate: know who is calling the lift or lower.
-Protect the bags. Check for sharp objects. I like to put a truck tire mud flap between the object being lifted, and the top of the bag.
-Lowering the bags and removing cribbing is just as dangerous as lifting. Stay sharp, and remove cribbing a row at a time.