Post by matt1987 on Dec 15, 2018 17:57:05 GMT
Glass Management
I have recently had a few conversations around the station and with other rescuers around glass management, the way in which we can perform it, options available to crews and ways to perform each of these.
I read in a previous post about options like “all out” or “packaged and left in situe” there are benefits for both of these options but lets skip through and just say ill usually pack-ex the whole vehicle, remove any glass that is in the extrication area and leave the rest in place... if pack-ex isn’t a feasible option (such as the glass being wet and pack-ex not sticking) then all out and removed.
Now to me the only part of this task that is really a huge requirement to talk about is laminated glass. People will generally associate this type of glass with the front windscreen but in many cars this type of glass is being used on all windows.
Why is it a problem? Well we can’t shatter the glass, it is constructed using two pieces of glass with a film glued between the two. This means for all practical purposes it is shatter proof.
The answer 9/10 times is a cut but there are other options, today we will discuss cutting.
Most appliances will carry winsaws, some will carry rhino cutters (if you don’t know what it is give it a Google), some will routinely use recip saws... this is just to name a few tools. For me my tool of choice will be the rhino cutter, I generally avoid using winsaws where possible and recip saw doesn’t seem useful when you have the rhino cutter to hand.
Now there is a problem with all of these options listed above, dust.... now to me people are hugely misunderstanding the issues around glass dust. Let me explain.
There is a culture of managing this by using dust masks and goggles (maybe) but actually when you look at medical articles on inhalation injuries the risk is extremely low for single exposure. The issues fire fighters are associating with this task are generally encountered in people with prolonged exposure such as builders or fabricators where you are breathing in dusts daily for years at a time.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t bother but maybe that we have the understanding wrong.
So where really is the risk? To me the serious risk revolves around wound management. When I talk of this I am talking about sub dermal wounds going through the entirety or the bulk of the skin.
The reason this is priority is that your body is capable of rejecting foreign objects from lungs (you cough, get mucus etc.) but your flesh does not.
This means that when you are clinical care they have to “clean” the wound, this generally means cutting away at large amounts of flesh until they are sure that the have removed all contaminants. This can lead to amputations in many cases.... if they don’t cut this away then it can lead to septicaemia and be fatal... I understand that this is all a bit extreme but it is possible and it does happen on occasions and is entirely avoidable.
So what is the answer? To me it’s a few things.
-Wound management on the casualty- we all talk about casualty cantered extrications and this just leads into making this task a part of that. Ensure all wounds are covered fully and I have also seen people wrapping the dressings in Clingfilm to add an extra layer of protection.
-Dust management- people are often wrapping the screens now, using various fluids to catch the dust.
-Using low dust tools- when you look at the common tools we use they create a lot of dust, the rhino is great but creates large volumes, the same with the recip saws... even the winsaws create a lot. There are low dust options too, before these glass management tools were developed crews used sheers and tree loppers, these are arduous and send shards of glass flying on occasion but that’s exactly what it gives off... shards and shards we can easily manage. We can also use the hydraulic cutters; this does create some dust but not too much.
-Cheese wiring out glass as a single piece. Probably the best option but maybe the hardest and gives off zero dust. This does take serious amounts of practice but it is the most effective option and can be fast.
So to conclude this id say if you were to take anything from this then remember glass in wounds causes serious issues and that glass management still needs to be a part of a casualty centered rescue. once again apologies for the bad spelling or bad writing. hope this helps.
I have recently had a few conversations around the station and with other rescuers around glass management, the way in which we can perform it, options available to crews and ways to perform each of these.
I read in a previous post about options like “all out” or “packaged and left in situe” there are benefits for both of these options but lets skip through and just say ill usually pack-ex the whole vehicle, remove any glass that is in the extrication area and leave the rest in place... if pack-ex isn’t a feasible option (such as the glass being wet and pack-ex not sticking) then all out and removed.
Now to me the only part of this task that is really a huge requirement to talk about is laminated glass. People will generally associate this type of glass with the front windscreen but in many cars this type of glass is being used on all windows.
Why is it a problem? Well we can’t shatter the glass, it is constructed using two pieces of glass with a film glued between the two. This means for all practical purposes it is shatter proof.
The answer 9/10 times is a cut but there are other options, today we will discuss cutting.
Most appliances will carry winsaws, some will carry rhino cutters (if you don’t know what it is give it a Google), some will routinely use recip saws... this is just to name a few tools. For me my tool of choice will be the rhino cutter, I generally avoid using winsaws where possible and recip saw doesn’t seem useful when you have the rhino cutter to hand.
Now there is a problem with all of these options listed above, dust.... now to me people are hugely misunderstanding the issues around glass dust. Let me explain.
There is a culture of managing this by using dust masks and goggles (maybe) but actually when you look at medical articles on inhalation injuries the risk is extremely low for single exposure. The issues fire fighters are associating with this task are generally encountered in people with prolonged exposure such as builders or fabricators where you are breathing in dusts daily for years at a time.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t bother but maybe that we have the understanding wrong.
So where really is the risk? To me the serious risk revolves around wound management. When I talk of this I am talking about sub dermal wounds going through the entirety or the bulk of the skin.
The reason this is priority is that your body is capable of rejecting foreign objects from lungs (you cough, get mucus etc.) but your flesh does not.
This means that when you are clinical care they have to “clean” the wound, this generally means cutting away at large amounts of flesh until they are sure that the have removed all contaminants. This can lead to amputations in many cases.... if they don’t cut this away then it can lead to septicaemia and be fatal... I understand that this is all a bit extreme but it is possible and it does happen on occasions and is entirely avoidable.
So what is the answer? To me it’s a few things.
-Wound management on the casualty- we all talk about casualty cantered extrications and this just leads into making this task a part of that. Ensure all wounds are covered fully and I have also seen people wrapping the dressings in Clingfilm to add an extra layer of protection.
-Dust management- people are often wrapping the screens now, using various fluids to catch the dust.
-Using low dust tools- when you look at the common tools we use they create a lot of dust, the rhino is great but creates large volumes, the same with the recip saws... even the winsaws create a lot. There are low dust options too, before these glass management tools were developed crews used sheers and tree loppers, these are arduous and send shards of glass flying on occasion but that’s exactly what it gives off... shards and shards we can easily manage. We can also use the hydraulic cutters; this does create some dust but not too much.
-Cheese wiring out glass as a single piece. Probably the best option but maybe the hardest and gives off zero dust. This does take serious amounts of practice but it is the most effective option and can be fast.
So to conclude this id say if you were to take anything from this then remember glass in wounds causes serious issues and that glass management still needs to be a part of a casualty centered rescue. once again apologies for the bad spelling or bad writing. hope this helps.
