EMS World Magazine is the most authoritative source in the world for clinical and educational material designed to improve the delivery of prehospital emergency medical care.
Issue link: https://emsworld.epubxp.com/i/658705
EMSWORLD.com | APRIL 2016 37 other on-duty activities, while 12,535 occurred at non-fire emergency incidents. Strain, sprain and muscular pain were the leading types of injury received during fireground operations (55.3%), followed by wound, cut, bleeding and bruise (13.8%). 1 These two sets of data, especially the number of injuries that occur on the fireground, demonstrate that in the vast majority of firefighter injuries, the firefighter will probably still be wearing turnout gear, and quite possibly a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Considering the NFPA reported that the most common injuries are traumatic and musculoskel- etal, an injured firefighter will probably be able to remove their gear. However, in 2013, I authored an article with Christopher Stephens, MD, where we observed that "in the context of the injured firefighter who has been rescued from a build- ing, the firefighter will present in one of three general categories: cardiac arrest; breathing, but unconscious; or conscious." 3 Clearly, the most common presentation would be a conscious firefighter with minor injuries who may remove their own gear. For a firefighter who is unconscious and potentially with more severe injuries, you will need to remove the protective ensemble without causing injury, or aggravating an existing injury. Subsequently, if there is any chance you would respond to a firefighter who has been injured, you should be familiar with the design and construction of turnout gear, and adaptive or emergent procedures for removing it. Protective Clothing A firefighter's protective ensemble includes a helmet, hood, coat, pants, boots and SCBA, all of which are regulated by NFPA stan- dards. Figure 1 lists pertinent NFPA standards. The Ambulance Child Restraint provides the safe and effective transport of infants and children in an ambulance, covering weight ranges from 4lbs to 99lbs. T: 516.321.9494 E: sales@quantum-ems.com W: www.quantum-ems.com Thankfully the child I belong to was wearing an ACR NEXT GENERATION Ambulance Child Restraint • History - 7 years proven track record • Open channel design allows complete patient access from the airway to the waist without un-restraining the child. • The restraint tightens into the mattress of the stretcher not into the child preventing any additional injury to the patient. • Compact packaging, the ACR-4 fts into its own 10 x 10 custom bag taking up less room in the back of an ambulance. • ACR-4 replaces the need to carry multiple devices to accomplish the task of restraining all size patients • Machine washable L 44-99lbs M 22-55lbs S 11-26lbs XS 4-11lbs SAVE TIME, SAVE MONEY, SAVE LIVES SOLUTIONS For More Information Circle 31 on Reader Service Card FIGURE 1: NFPA STANDARDS NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program NFPA 1851 Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting NFPA 1971 Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting NFPA 1981 Standard on Open-Circuit Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services NFPA 1982 Standard on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS)