UPDATE AIR BAG SAFETY INFO. PLEASE!!!!!

[REDKOOLAID]

WHY ARE WE THE LAST TO KNOW ABOUT NEW TECHNOLOGY DRIVING THROUGH ARE TOWNSHIPS?
THESE ABS & SRS SYSTEMS ARE SCARING THE HECK OUT OF ME.....AM I GOING TO INJURE MYSELF, FELLOW FF, OR MAYBE EVEN THE PATIENT THE NEXT TIME I CUT A POST!!
RON MOORE..MY HELMETS OFF TO YOU!! YOU TRUELY ARE A LIKE A FARMER,,,"OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD". I USED ONE OF FIREHOUSES DOWNLOADABLE DRILLS FOR MY EXTRICATION LAST WEEK AND IT WENT GREAT.
MY QUESTION FOR ALL OF YOU IS... HOW DO YOU ALL KEEP UP WITH THE TECHNOLOGY?
RON HAD SOME GREAT INPUT FROM A PREVIOUS FORUM BUT MOST OF US DON'T HAVE THE TIME IN THE VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE TO RESEARCH EVERY CAR MANUFACTURER OUT THERE.
MY ULTIMATE GOAL FOR THIS MESSAGE IS TO GENERATE SOME TYPE OF REGISTER THAT MANUFACTURERS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SEND A YEARLY NOTIFICATION TO ALL FIRE&RESCUE AGENCIES WORLD WIDE ALERTING THEM TO POTENTIAL HAZADARDS AND SPECIFICS ON THIER VEHICLES.
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.
M.ENGLAND
CAPT./TRNG. OFFICER
NEWBOLD FIRE

------------------

[rmoore]

A Posting From Ron Moore, Forum Moderator

Yes I too believe that we, the fire, rescue and EMS service, seem to be the last to know about new technology items installed on vehicles.

For example, just this week in Plano I noticed a new 2000 model year Honda Insight parked out front of a highrise office building. The silver car caught my attention because it had such unusual aerodynamic styling.

I pulled into the parking lot and looked the car over. Logos at the rear of the 2-door sedan told me that it was a hybrid vehicle. The markings said that it had a gasoline engine and an electric battery to power and move the vehicle. It is just one example of the new generation of zero emission vehicles.
I'll have images posted within this message forum soon.

I haven't studied that vehicle yet or any of these other hybrids. But what would I have done if the driver had a crash on our city streets getting to that parking space? What if it were on fire?

Yes I know that there is an emergency procedures book out for the original electric car, the Saturn EV-1. I also have a copy of the emergency procedures book provided by Toyota for their wooo model year hybrid vehicle, the Prius. But still the question remains. How do we get the critical information directly to the emergency scene, exactly when needed, and for the specific vehicle involved in the incident?

I firmly believe that responders are the forgotten "step child" when it comes to getting vital new technology information.

I believe that automakers should provide the Vehicle Safety Data Sheet(VSDS) placard that I have proposed. Something that gives us the vital safety information right on the scene. Unfortunately a brain trust of major automakers meeting a month ago have essentially "voted down" this proposal. We're back to square one.

I'm still optimistic that this concept can become reality. I still believe in
Santa Claus too.


Ron Moore,
Fire Training Manager
Plano (TX) Fire Rescue
214-728-6776
<[email protected]>

[pokeyfd12]

Maybe the vehicle manufacturers could get together and form a 24-hour emergency hotline like ChemTrec for the chemical transportation industry.

I know it would be a pain in the butt to make a phone call about every vehicle involved in an incident but maybe just having that service available along with a master VSDS book (something like the North American Emergency Response Guidebook) would be a true asset to the emergency services and would only be a phone call away.

I've used ChemTrec so many times that I've lost count. Can you imagine the chemical manufacturers hedging and sitting back during the formation of ChemTrec saying "that 24-hour service will never work, nobody will call it."

Just a thought.

Engine/Rescue Lt. Kevin C. (aka Pokey)

[multiplealarm]

JUST THIS WEEK I STARTED TO REWRITE MY EXTRICATION OUTLINE FOR AN UP COMING MULTI DEPT. COURSE. I DECIDED TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ON THE NEW HYBRID CARS(HONDA INSIGHT AND THE TOYOTA PRIUS.) TODAY I MADE A TRIP TO LOCAL CAR DEALERS WITH MY CAMERA AND A LIST OF QUESTIONS. I FOUND OUT VERY FAST THAT MOST SALES PEOPLE AND SERVICE REPS DON'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT THESE CARS. I DID FIND OUT HOW TO DISCONNECT THE HV ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY. BOTH CARS DISCONNECT SWITCH IS VERY EASY TO ACCESS, ON THE PRIUS THERES NOTHING BUT SOME PLASTIC PINS AND CARPET TO REMOVE TO REACH THE SWITCH, THE INSIGHT REQUIRES A WRENCH OR NUT DRIVER TO REMOVE 2 SCREWS. SOUNDS SIMPLE ENOUGH, RIGHT? THE ONLY PROBLEM IS IF THE CAR HAS SUFFERED A REAR END COLLISION, THIS COULD MAKE DISCONNECTION IMPOSSIBLE.
I LEFT THE DEALERS WITH SEVERAL PHOTOS OF EACH VEHICLE AND ALOT OF INFORMATION FROM ABOUT EACH CAR. ONE DEALER EVEN LET ME BORROW ITS SERVICE MANUAL FOR STUDY.
I CAN SEE HOW THE PROPOSED VSDS SHEETS WOULD COME IN HANDY WITH THESE HYBRID CARS.
I AM GOING TO CONTINUE MY QUEST FOR INFORMATION, I FEEL IT IS A MUST. THESE CARS A BEING SOLD EVERY DAY IN MY AREA AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE ONE IS INVOLVED IN A SIGNIFICANT COLLISION. AS I GATHER INFORMATION I WILL TRY TO PASS IT ON. IF ANY ONE ELSE FINDS ANYTHING INTERESTING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN ADD IT TO MY OUTLINE.

JEFF BREWER
ALEXANDER CITY ALABAMA FIRE/RESCUE

[This message has been edited by multiplealarm (edited September 26, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by multiplealarm (edited September 27, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by multiplealarm (edited September 27, 2000).]