Rescue Operations and Extrication
Rescue Operations and Extrication tests vehicle rescue, structural rescue, and specialty rescue principles: scene safety, stabilization, access, disentanglement, and patient removal. Houston's freeway incidents and older structures make stabilization and tool discipline high-yield.
Core rules and concepts
- Rescue priorities: scene safety, stabilization, access, medical care, disentanglement, extrication, and transport.
- Stabilize vehicles on all four sides with cribbing and chocks; chock the wheels, set the brake, disconnect the battery, and control traffic and glass.
- Extrication steps: plan, stabilize, gain access, remove glass, displace or remove doors, roll the dash or roof, then package the patient. Avoid cutting airbag inflators and high-strength steel unless necessary.
- Hydraulic spreaders, cutters, and rams require a stable base and a clear tool path. Use cribbing to prevent collapse as you lift.
- Structural rescue uses size-up, shoring, void search, and USAR marking. Do not enter an unstable void without shoring and a buddy.
- Confined-space and trench rescues require atmospheric monitoring, a permit, an attendant, and shoring; most fire departments perform defensive operations until specialists arrive.
Worked example
A car strikes a pole and rests on a slope; the driver is pinned by the dash. The crew stabilizes with cribbing and chocks, disconnects the battery, sets traffic control, and removes glass. A hydraulic ram rolls the dash while a medic maintains C-spine. The patient is moved onto a backboard only after the space is created. Reasoning: stabilization prevents the vehicle from shifting; battery disconnect reduces fire and airbag risk; dash roll creates space without cutting through high-strength steel. Medical care is continuous, not delayed until extrication ends.
Traps that cost marks
- Working under an unstabilized vehicle.
- Cutting an airbag cylinder or high-strength pillar.
- Skipping traffic control or glass management.
- Rushing extrication before patient care.
- Entering a trench or confined space without monitoring and shoring.