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Received this question from an Ohio fire officer seeking clarification on one element of the Phases of Rescue drill. The four-part Phases Drill to address NFPA 1670 Ops-level competencies has been presented in the University of Extrication column.
Question-
I am using the University of Extrication's "Phases of Rescue" drill to determine my department's capabilities. I have one question though. In Phase 1, one of the steps is to "document capacitor drain time". What exactly is meant by this, and how is this done?
Reply-
During the Phases drill, this benchmark can be accomplished by the OIC making a statement out loud so the crew members can hear. "Battery shutdown now, capacitor is draining" or something to that effect.
What this refers to is a physical action that can be documented during the drill showing several key training points;
- that the crew is aware of the status of the vehicle's airbag electrical system,
- that the crew is aware of what an airbag capacitor does,
- that the crew is aware that the power has to be shut down to begin to make things safer, and
- that the crew is aware that even with the power shut down at the battery, the airbags are still a potential deployment concern.
I'd recommend in your real-world operations, that the OIC actually make a radio transmission to your dispatcher when the battery of the crashed vehicle has been shut down. We do this now at structure fires; under control, loss stopped, we have PAR, etc. This new idea is a real-world way of documenting that the electrical system has been dealt with at a crash scene, and that the crew at the crash scene knows that fact and is aware that the capacitor is now draining down. Every second that the battery is shut off and the capacitor is draining is making things a little better for the operating crews.
Bottom line: an undeployed airbag is ALWAYS to be considered a deployment potential and treated with great respect even with the battery gone and the capacitor completely drained!
Question-
I am using the University of Extrication's "Phases of Rescue" drill to determine my department's capabilities. I have one question though. In Phase 1, one of the steps is to "document capacitor drain time". What exactly is meant by this, and how is this done?
Reply-
During the Phases drill, this benchmark can be accomplished by the OIC making a statement out loud so the crew members can hear. "Battery shutdown now, capacitor is draining" or something to that effect.
What this refers to is a physical action that can be documented during the drill showing several key training points;
- that the crew is aware of the status of the vehicle's airbag electrical system,
- that the crew is aware of what an airbag capacitor does,
- that the crew is aware that the power has to be shut down to begin to make things safer, and
- that the crew is aware that even with the power shut down at the battery, the airbags are still a potential deployment concern.
I'd recommend in your real-world operations, that the OIC actually make a radio transmission to your dispatcher when the battery of the crashed vehicle has been shut down. We do this now at structure fires; under control, loss stopped, we have PAR, etc. This new idea is a real-world way of documenting that the electrical system has been dealt with at a crash scene, and that the crew at the crash scene knows that fact and is aware that the capacitor is now draining down. Every second that the battery is shut off and the capacitor is draining is making things a little better for the operating crews.
Bottom line: an undeployed airbag is ALWAYS to be considered a deployment potential and treated with great respect even with the battery gone and the capacitor completely drained!
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