Paul Hasenmeier's Blog – December 2011 Archive (4)

What’s your plan for a collision pinning a victim between the hood of a car and the rear-end of a heavy vehicle?  Is this an unlikely scenario?  Whether you are in a small town or big city, commercial vehicles are stopping and going through your jurisdiction daily.  See my previous post on cribbing for heavy vehicles to get an idea of the weights.

It is imperative for us to…

We had the opportunity to gain some valuable knowledge from our local electric utility company at a recent training.  They provided answers to questions with professional and expert recommendations.  First, I’ll review some terminology through pictures.  Second, I’ll list a series of questions that were asked of the utility company personnel and their answers.  Lastly, I’ll review several…

Here is a basic review of wood cribbing capacities and then some thoughts on how to increase your crews critical thinking before the heavy rescue lifting call.

Are you prepared to lift a heavy vehicle off of an entrapped victim?  Do you have the knowledge, equipment, and cribbing to make the rescue fast and safe?  Fast is a relative term in this case.  Technical rescues are not often fast, but we should strive for expeditious rescue with coordinated and competent techniques.…

The pictures below were sent to me by PTFD Lt. Bronner while on a road trip.  

After you get done chuckling at the photos below consider the following:

• Are your walk-throughs, inspections, and preplans catching building or content alterations that could potentially place you or the occupants at a disadvantage during a fire?
•  Would the umbrella material melt away and not interfere with sprinkler coverage?…