PATIENT TRAPPED (no fuelin!)

[NB87JW]

A Recent MVA had the driver of this Van Seriously Injured with his legs trapped with fuel gasoline leaking from the MC-306 (9000 gallon tanker). In the accident, "part of the distribution manifold was broken off, and the cable that controls the tank's internal valve was stretched enough to open it. As a result, the tank's front compartment began to empty onto the road. First responding units were able to cut the cable and get the internal valve to close, but the truck could not be moved until the cargo was safely transferred."

Let's extricate this fella. Share your thoughts how you would complete this Extrication Evolution.

Be Safe Bro's

Fraternally, Jordan

[explr985]

Go in through the back, if not pinned, collar and board, and get out. I would put some foam or use a ABC extinguisher on the spill fuel. If he was pinned, don't ask me what to do.

[Resq14]

A bad day that has the potential to get just a little worse

Upon seeing this, I would special call two ARFF units to the scene asap. ETA would be roughly 15mins.

In the mean time, I suppose you could send in a crew protected by 2 2.5" lines with foam with the goal of yanking the occupant out of this very precarious situation. I'd approach uphill and upwind of the leak.

As far as using tools to extricate the patient, I'd be careful about sparks and heat. It would probably be a good idea to get some type of master stream flowing a foam solution prior to the arrival of the ARFF units.

Oh and no smoking, either.

[firemanpat29]

Hard to tell from the pic I would try removing pt from
passenger side or rear. Try the simple things to untrap legs
(remove shoes, raise tilt steering, slide and recline seat,
remove dog house cover.) If power tools are required I would
use the hand pump not the gas engine. ALL ff in full PPE(hoods,
fire gloves not mechanixs) Protect with at least charged 1.75
clear as much scene area as possible. Close off all traffic.
leave battery alone. Dam off spill try not to spread much water
around once pt is out stabalize scene until hazmat help arrives
We had a simular call 2 years ago

[ADSNWFLD]

Take care of the hazard. Your gear won't stop you from getting injured if it goes. Foam the area have a crew standing by with purple K. In this case after foam I'd pull the van away then work on it, away from the fuel.

If the guys are standing in the foam working don't forget to be on air.

The hazard has to be delt with first.

[Rescue101]

Lots of logistics

Appears to be a >9000 gal unit by use of van's length and fifth wheel to rear of trailer distance.Four or five pocket 306 by experience.Two thousand or less a pocket,one leaking.Speaking only from my experience;Nothing short of a Airport truck is going to have enough Purple K on it to amount to squat,wouldn't be my first choice anyway.1.75 line?Might as well unzip your fly if it lights,three 2.5's wouldn't put a dent in it.AFFF applied over the area will help fume suppression,and help prevent ignition.You have several VERY SERIOUS problems.One is the van's battery is on the crushed corner under the tanker.Second due to the angle of the hit it will be EXTREMELY difficult to move either vehicle without the possibility of ignition.Extrication will be tricky and EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.I'll buy into the rear removal if at all possible.Order early and order heavy,if nothing happens you're golden,but if it lights you had better be ready.SECURE the area for a good distance particularly downwind.How much product is down and where did it go?Secure the sewers and notify Public works and the Sewer District.Airport crew is over a hr. from me but I'd probably start them this way.If I had to move the van it would be under a foam deluge and at a 45 degree angle to the front and AWAY from the tank to seperate it from the piping.Minimal crew in the "hot zone" and Full PPE and masks on.T.C.

[lutan1]

Coming from the Great Land Down Under where we drive on the correct side of the road, from the correct side of the car- this is so easy!

The drivers door is already open. If we're concerned for the casualties safety, then take them straight out the open door!

If we're concerned about spinal, then I'd agree with others- out the back doors....

[Resq14]

Originally posted by lutan1
Coming from the Great Land Down Under where we drive on the correct side of the road, from the correct side of the car- this is so easy!

The drivers door is already open. If we're concerned for the casualties safety, then take them straight out the open door!

If we're concerned about spinal, then I'd agree with others- out the back doors....

lol

[NB87JW]

Luke,

I knew there was a reason you Aussies drove on the opposite side of the road and with the steering wheel on the right side. It's for accidents just like this one. Made me laugh bro!

JW

[choad33]

Originally posted by explr985
Go in through the back, if not pinned, collar and board, and get out. I would put some foam or use a ABC extinguisher on the spill fuel. If he was pinned, don't ask me what to do.

For future reference dry chemical will not prevent a fire from starting, or restarting after you have extinguished the original fire.

[nmfire]

Depending on the speed of the leak, this may or may not help....

A fog stream with a somewhat wide pattern will help disperse the fumes... a lot more so that sitting there watching it. If you have the portable monitors, you can hook your deckgun with fog nozzle up to a 4" or 5" line and really move some air. This of course requires a significant supply of water. Not everyone is equiped with barrel after barrel of foam. If the leak isn't massive, it might just do the trick to reduce vapors and disperse the liquid. Of course, if it pouring out the bottom like an upside down gyser, that may not help much.

[lutan1]

I've gotta say that water would be the last thing I'd be applying to this unless it was LPG. Water may certainly disperse the fumes, but it creates added problems of increasing the fuel spread, then you've got run off problems, etc.

If I had to do metal movement in this scenario with leaking fuel from the tanker, I'd be using the hand operated hydraulics.

[Dalmatian90]

Step 1) Ok, breath...
2) Pick up mic, give size-up,
3) Request DEP Haz-Mat be started
4) There's a gasoline trucking company next town over, even if it's not there truck have a dispatcher call them to send someone out familiar with those tankers.
5) Re-tone us and start a full structural assignment to staging areas
(Wanna bet you'll have exposure issues if this thing catches?)
6) Scavenge around the floor for the gas meter that went flying when I came over the hill and jacked on the brakes of the rescue truck...

What direction is the wind coming from? Can we get upwind? Can we get up hill? (I always love the Haz-Mat advice...approach from upwind and uphill...wonder what you do if the accident's at the top of a hill on a dead-end road )

Only cause it was mentioned in the post do I vaguely remember about that cable shut-off thingy -- but that's why we got DEP Haz-Mat we can talk to on the cell phone, and why I called for a local company familiar with these things to consult with.

We can't be instantly prepared for everything we come into. Until someone gets here who knows how to shut the flow and assess the tank, we're in observation mode.

Secure the scene, start metering to define a perimeter. Do we need additional traffic control, do we need to worry about evacuations (like people stuck in traffic right behind this), is the gasoline draining into a storm drain and I'm standing on a manhole cover...

Once we have the leak stopped, it's time to wait for DEP's assesment of the stability/intergrity of that tank.

We don't approach a car with power lines down on it until Power Company let's us know it's safe, we shouldn't be approaching this puppy either.

Once the leak is stopped and DEP or someone familiar with these tanks is confident it has it's integrity, then washing down the scene to effect a rescue would be appropriate. If you have an active leak, I think the only thing you could do safely is Rescue 101's idea -- pull it away under foam deluge. I already called for a 1st alarm, and I fully intend to lay at least one and probably two or three big yellow lines in the road just in case something lights up -- we might not have enough foam to control it, but we can get enough water to keep the exposures from going.

Bunker gear may offer some small protection from a flash fire. Still it's nothing to be working in that area with -- all you need to be is soaked in gas 'cause you leaned over part of the van so you get to watch your bunker gear continue to burn after the flash is over...

People can't move quickly during an extrication -- your holding tools, your body balance is often off, your in awkard positions.

Is emptying the tanker the best idea? I'll leave that to DEP -- an empty tanker is gonna go BOOM a lot faster than a full one.

For that matter, if the Tanker's intergrity looks good to DEP, rather than dragging the van away, let's foam down the area, put the Tractor in reverse, back away from the van, and then drive it clear of the van?

Size-up is everything, and you do what is reasonably safe to do. But this is one situation to simply slow down and plan your actions & entries out. Probably as I babbled on, way too many possibilities here!

[nmfire]

Originally posted by lutan1
I've gotta say that water would be the last thing I'd be applying to this unless it was LPG. Water may certainly disperse the fumes, but it creates added problems of increasing the fuel spread, then you've got run off problems, etc.

That is definately something to concider. There are so many variables, you can't possibly list them all.

[Resq14]

Originally posted by Dalmatian90
Step 1) Ok, breath...
2) Pick up mic, give size-up,
3) Request DEP Haz-Mat be started
4) There's a gasoline trucking company next town over, even if it's not there truck have a dispatcher call them to send someone out familiar with those tankers.
5) Re-tone us and start a full structural assignment to staging areas
(Wanna bet you'll have exposure issues if this thing catches?)
6) Scavenge around the floor for the gas meter that went flying when I came over the hill and jacked on the brakes of the rescue truck...

What about the patient Dal? Too dangerous to approach, or do you go for the rescue effort?

And, I'm not a hazmat tech or anything (haha I still don't buy into the whole deal, aside from recognizing what is bad and staying away from it), but what good is a gas meter going to do with gasoline? I guess if you have a broad range hydrocarbon sensor, it can detect gasoline "fumes"/vapor. Correct me if I'm wrong, but LEL and detectors for "-anes" will not sense hydrocarbon fumes.