Learned a valuable survival lesson today

[MrCoffee]

I don't find too many broken spark plugs laying around While I like the small glass breakers, my experience yesterday still tells me I want a heavy tool to use both as a breaker and a pry bar.

CERT issues a hammer, shutoff, glass breaker tool after you have completed the courses, and I find it ok, but the RESQUME glass breaker/belt cutter works great. But having a prybar, heavy tool is very important.

Jeff we all learn lessons like this one, I learn mine, which is what set me on the path to CERT and always carrying the gear I do in my Go kit.

My lesson went like this:

A few years back I was driving in Vermont, and came around a sharp corner where there had been a head on accident between a Pickup and a SUV. When I got there, several other people had already stopped to help, and they had the driver of the pickup out of the truck, trying to move him off the road (the crash was in the center of the road), his left leg was a mess, and bleeding everywhere. His passenger had a scalp wound and it was bleeding like crazy too, and I helped her over to the guardrail. This was before my CERT training, and I didn't have any supplies with me at all, I ended up using a clean tee shirt from my car to apply pressure to the wound. I also tried to help with the guy, but the compound fractures we way beyond anything I had seen or delt with and I had no idea how to try and stopped the bleeding. One of the other people was working on him, none of us really had any supplies to deal with this. The passenger was being helped by someone else, so I went to the SUV to try and help there. The driver was dead, and the child in the back was out cold, and not breathing correctly, but I couldnt get any of the doors open or get to him. The woman in the passengers seat was trying to get out, or to her child, but was in bad shape herself. The two guys there and I tried everything to get access to them, but couldn't.

Anyways, EMS got there, and took over, I got the hell out of the way. They got the woman out of the SUV with the jaws of life, the child died before they could get to him. The other two were airlifted from the scene. I walked back to my truck, and I was covered in blood, hands, shirt, face, jeans... blood everywhere, as were the others that tried to help. The police came over and talked to me, gave me some water, and a towel to try and clean up and got my info. After I stopped shaking I went home.

Later, I got a call from one of the EMS guys at the scene. Turned out that the woman I helped was HIV positive and they wanted me to head to the Doctor and get tested. I did and it was negative. But that was just LUCK.

Lesson learned was to get trained, to have the gear, and TO ALWAYS have protective gear, always. I always put on Nitrile gloves under my leather gloves whenever I stopped to help, most of the time safety glasses too.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Well, good grief, you're a wookie. Of course a wookie can tear a whole car apart, let alone a little old window.

"Droids aren't known for pulling people's arms out of their sockets when they lose...wookies are known to do that."

 

[luckykitty]

Turned out that the woman I helped was HIV positive and they wanted me to head to the Doctor and get tested. I did and it was negative.

That is the reason why I carry gloves (nitrile or latex) and a resuscitation aid.
The gloves are a part of the first aid kits all cars in Germany have, and I actually check my first aid gear, and stock up once something is used.

I'm looking into repeating my first aid training, because it's been 20 years since I had proper training.

 

[jnanson]

Could someone modify a RC-3 to have a RC-3 Mil glass breaker? FortyTwoBlades which tool is that in the pictures?

 

[Dizwolf]

Later, I got a call from one of the EMS guys at the scene. Turned out that the woman I helped was HIV positive and they wanted me to head to the Doctor and get tested. I did and it was negative. But that was just LUCK.

Skin's pretty resistant...I've been sprayed a few times. But all it takes is one little cut in the wrong place... I keep gloves, a mask, and purell on board at all times now as well.

 

[Dizwolf]

Could someone modify a RC-3 to have a RC-3 Mil glass breaker?

I'm guessing about 15-30 seconds on a grinding wheel would do it.

 

[onado2000]

A golf club works as well to break auto glass, ask Tiger Woods wife

 

[Brad "the butcher"]

Did industrial first aid for 11 years, carry a level 2 kit in my 2000 tacoma. Good on you for stopping and making the right call. I keep one of those springloaded centerpunch on my visor but having a good crowbar makes sense, off to the pawn shop for a used one.

Hey jwilliams, the paramedic profession gets little respect but lots of DEMANDS for a wage that is far below the level of trust and responsibility everyone EXPECTS.
Kudos man

 

[Any Cal.]

I had a small Timberwolf fixed blade I used once to try to break a wing window. I tried the butt several times, then turned it around and tried the tip. Nothing gave. I got a tire iron and drove the tip into the glass hard enough to break it, twice, but still no dice. Ended up just hitting the window with the iron hard enough to break it, but it was still the 3 or 4th try, each with increasing force. They are a lot tougher than you would expect.

I know a guy that broke a couple windows w/ snow tire studs too. The first was an accident, the second was to see if that was really what happened.

 

[crowdog]

My med kit and brkt came in handy about a week or so ago at a three car pile up where my family and I were first to arrive...I saw the impact.
called 911, grabed my med kit out from the bottom of my jansport and ran over to do what i could to assist my family member who was an army nurse, and now an RN.
One group were wearing no seatbelts, women sliced above her eye open; It was a squirter. lots of stiches and a bunch off to the hospital everyone turned out to heal fine.
So yes Sound advice Jeff, keep that shet with you all times possible.
I get looks for being so willynilly about have so much preperation crap on me...well no one was saying anything that day other than thankyou.

 

[Todd Murphy]

Thanks for sharing this story. It has made me seriously rethink the kit that I keep in my cars. Hopefully, I'll never need what I don't have. Also, I just want to emphasize, if any of you don't have at least basic first aid training, GET SOME! I can guarantee that first aid training is something that everyone will use at some point. Additionally, all the gear in the world won't help if you don't know how to use it.

 

[j williams]

Hey jwilliams, the paramedic profession gets little respect but lots of DEMANDS for a wage that is far below the level of trust and responsibility everyone EXPECTS.
Kudos man

Aint that the truth!! :thumbup:

 

[j williams]

I don't find too many broken spark plugs laying around While I like the small glass breakers, my experience yesterday still tells me I want a heavy tool to use both as a breaker and a pry bar.

I pack a Stanly Fubar in my truck. Thats a beast of a tool!!!

 

[Dizwolf]

Someone asked how long it would take to convert a reg RC3.

Answer: about 3 minutes on a lansky puck.

 

[68Charlie]

Nice work.

 

[stokka]

Thank you for sharing.

After reading the thread went and bought a prying bar and put it in the vehicle.

 

[DH1]

Someone asked how long it would take to convert a reg RC3.

Answer: about 3 minutes on a lansky puck.

Cool, I'm going to try that later tonight.

I checked a few days ago on what I had in the cargo area of my Blazer that could bust out a window...four various shaped and sized pry bars and a hammer! And a 3D Mag Lite in the drivers side door with the cap filled with pennies, not sure that would work as efficiently though.

 

[stokka]

And a 3D Mag Lite in the drivers side door with the cap filled with pennies, not sure that would work as efficiently though.

If you are curious to know how MagLite performs:

flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_3d.htm

 

[sparkem]

I work for a tow/auto repair shop. A couple weeks ago we sent a few cars to the crusher. We had fun smashing them up before they left. The broken creamic from a spark plug works great, be careful to not cut yourself on the super sharp edges. We did the antenna trick, works good. I did not have my RC3 on me at the time. I like the center punch the best.

I saw a motorcycle wreck one day. Lady turned left infront of a crotch rocket. The speed limit was 35 and he was doing about that. I was first on scene. I was in the Coast Guard and had some first aid training. There are some dumb people out there. A small croud formed around the bike rider on the ground. The guy was hurt with blood coming out of his nose and he could not talk but he could understand what I was saying. One lady was screaming, "Does anyone know CPR, Does anyone know CPR?" He did not need CPR. Another lady was screaming, "We need to take his helmet off, we need to take his helemt off." Someone started to reach for the helmet to take it off. I had to slap them away and tell them not to touch the guy.

 

[exidor]

Someone asked how long it would take to convert a reg RC3.

Answer: about 3 minutes on a lansky puck.

Yeah!! nice job thats what I wanted to see,I'm a couple of days from doing the same thing! time is short for me right now,and I'm waiting for my RP knife.
soon I will have a sharp pommel.:thumbup: