Vehicle Rescue Skills (Site Handling) Night Rescue

Relief operations at night are affected more by factors than during the day, but we can now consider two of them: reduced visibility and lower temperatures.

Reduced visibility

This difference will greatly affect the effectiveness of the work performed within the same space and on-site safety requirements. Reduced visibility can make initial assessments difficult and time consuming. It is also not easy to identify dangers and reduce risks. For example, it is difficult to determine the type of fuel used by the vehicle, determine the location of the injured, stabilize the vehicle, and treat the glass. It is also not easy to identify and deal with wounds.

Decrease in temperature

In general, nighttime temperatures will fall. However, this is not a mere difference between the temperature difference between day and night. It is easier for rescue workers and the injured to fall rapidly in the body temperature in this situation. Before this happened, the people in the car were relatively warm and comfortable inside the cabin. Once the rescue operation begins, the injured will be exposed to the low temperature environment outside the vehicle and the body heat will be quickly consumed. This is due to the gradual loss of control of the cabin temperature. What's more, the clothing of the injured is usually not suitable for outdoor low-temperature environment.

From a medical point of view, exposure to cold conditions, and more severely, a decrease in body temperature coupled with trauma will make the situation extremely dangerous, especially when the victim has internal or external bleeding.

So what can you do? Let the action be simple and clear The body temperature in this situation is mainly affected by two factors: the area and time of the exposure to the relief action must always adhere to the fastest and most secure principle.

Can we reduce the area of ​​the injured exposed to the environment?

The standard rescue process means that we always expose the injured to the environment, so we need to think about:

1 Vehicle position - Can the vehicle position block the wind (without affecting the safety of rescue workers)?

2 The use of insulation items, such as blankets.

When designating a rescue plan, exposure should be taken into account. For example, if you are rescued from the roof when you finalize your rescue plan, consider making a roof roll. The position of the incision should be in place so that the roof can be flipped at the last moment, ie before the rescue. This can reduce the time the injured person is exposed to the environment.

Night training

Once the theoretical study is completed, arrange an actual night training exercise. It needs to be remembered that the basic principle in any training is the safety principle. Therefore, during each stage of the rescue process, it is necessary to pay attention to the actual problems that will occur, and then discuss and obtain solutions.

Practical training is not uncommon. Sometimes we will ignore some basic factors and subtle differences, and these will happen under actual conditions. The factors of night-time rescue are more varied and rescue workers must act more alertly. The most important thing is to be aware of the danger of night-time rescue and the danger of extending the on-site treatment time. Preparing and training in advance will reduce these risks and allow rescue workers to be more focused on the rescue process.

This article belongs to holmatro and edited by China Rescue Equipment Network.