Escape and Rescue from Submerged Vehicles

By Gerald Dworkin

Each year, there are approximately 1,500 incidents and 600 deaths occur involving vehicles that have gone off the road and plummeted into the water. Therefore, the public needs to plan for these types of emergencies by (A) rehearsing the steps necessary for a successful self-rescue from a vehicle in the water, and (B) having the rescue/escape tools readily available for use during this type of emergency situation. In addition, First Responder agencies need to provide the training necessary to prepare their personnel to respond to these types of incidents, and should provide the Personal Protective Equipment and rescue tools necessary for a safe and effective response to vehicles in the water.

SAFETY

Public service campaigns should be increased in an effort to educate the public about the risks of driving through flooded highways; driving in close proximity to bodies of water during snow, rain or other slippery conditions; or driving over lakes, rivers or ponds that have frozen over. The following information should be included in these efforts:

It only takes 6” to 2' of water to float a vehicle off its wheels. Heed warnings about low water crossings and do not attempt to cross flooded highways.

8” to 12” of new, clear, hard ice is required to drive a small vehicle onto the ice. 12” to 15” of new, clear, hard ice is required to drive a medium-sized truck onto the ice.

Wearing seatbelts will increase your chances of surviving a crash into the water.

If a vehicle leaves the road and lands in deep water, the vehicle's float time at the surface of the water may be as little as 30 seconds, or as much as 4 minutes. Factors which effect the float time include closed, sealed, and intact windows and weather seals. Because of the location of the motor in the front of the vehicle, the vehicle will immediately assume an angled nose down position in the water.

ESCAPE

Because of the relatively limited time frame for self-rescue, the decision to escape the vehicle must be made immediately. However, because of the angled nose-down position in the water and the pressure exerted by the water against the doors, as well as structural damage to the vehicle as a result the crash, it may be extremely difficult or impossible to open the driver's side and passenger doors of the vehicle in order to effect an escape. Therefore, the only avenue of escape may be through the car door windows.

Studies have shown that the electric power may stay on for as much as 10 minutes. Or, the battery can short out immediately, making the electric window switches useless. Therefore, in order to escape through the car door windows, the occupants must be able to punch out the windows. Because the door windows, as well as the rear window, are constructed of tempered glass, they will easily shatter using an appropriate rescue/escape tool, such as a life hammer device, or a spring-loaded window punch. Many of the commercially available rescue/escape tools also have an integrated seat-belt cutter/blade that provides the ability to slice away a seat belt should its release mechanism fail or jam.

The decision to escape the vehicle must be made as soon as the vehicle leaves the road and enters the water. If the occupants delay their escape from the vehicle and the vehicle begins to sink, it may not be possible to effect an escape until the water pressure has equalized inside the vehicle. Also, should the vehicle land in deep water, if the water depth is less than 14', the vehicle will usually come to rest on the bottom on all four wheels, assuming there are no large rocks or other debris on the bottom. However, water depths greater than 14' usually results in the vehicle turning turtle and landing on its roof. Needless to say, being upside down in a dark environment with water rushing in will totally disorient the occupants of the vehicle.

We advocate the escape principles of SOS-GO.

S = Stay Calm
Assess the Situation
Slow your Breathing
O = Open your Window(s) or Door(s)
S = Disengage your Seatbelt
GO = Get Out

In order to accomplish this, these emergency procedures should be rehearsed before the emergency occurs. Use a body reference point to identify and locate the door latch, window crank or electric window switch. As an example, the driver should practice finding the location of these by touching his knee or hip with his/her left hand and then move the hand laterally to the door. A rescue/escape tool should be immediately available for punching out the window and cutting seatbelts. This tool should be mounted on the sidewall of the driver's side compartment, attached to the key ring, or located in some other conspicuous location that can be easily accessed during an emergency. Consideration should be given to additional tools for the passenger side and rear seat compartments as well.

If there are multiple occupants, once an escape route has been opened, each occupant should hold hands in a human chain and escape from the same route. If young children are secured in car seats, based on a limited study, we found that of those car seats we evaluated, they were sufficiently buoyant to float a child on the surface of the water. Therefore, the car seat can be cut loose from the seat belt and removed from the vehicle with the child still secured in the car seat.

There is no doubt that when a vehicle leaves the roadway and plunges into the water, this would be an extremely frightening experience, especially during the winter months with cold water posing additional risks and hazards to the occupants. But, by rehearsing the emergency escape and survival procedures and having the rescue/escape tools readily available, occupants can safely and rapidly self-extricate themselves from this situation before the vehicle begins to sink.

RESCUE

Public Safety and Rescue personnel should be appropriately trained, protected, and equipped to effectively and safely respond to vehicles in the water. Besides the availability of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs), Wetsuits, and/or Dry-Suits, rescue personnel should have the tools readily available to punch in the car door windows or the rear window in order to rapidly extricate a victim or multiple victims from a vehicle in the water. Spring-loaded window punches or life hammer type devices with seat-belt cutters provide the rescuer with the opportunity to gain immediate access to the victims and to cut away the victim's seat belt for their immediate extrication from the vehicle.

As standard protocol, whenever a rescue agency is dispatched to respond to a vehicle in the water, the dispatch of a wrecker should be automatic in every community and emergency response system. Upon arrival of the wrecker, it can be used to assist in the stabilization of the vehicle during and after the rescue of the vehicle occupants.

RESCUE/ESCAPE TOOLS

We evaluated a number of rescue/escape tools. These tools are either hammer-type devices or spring-loaded window punch devices. Although both types of tools were effective in breaking door windows and rear car windows, we found that the hammer-type devices were more dependable. Each of the spring-loaded window punch devices we tested were effective in breaking the windows when they were first removed from their packaging. However, after several practice drills, the points on these devices became dull which resulted in their failure to work and break the windows. Therefore, we caution against using the spring-loaded window punches for any purpose other than for breaking the windows. Furthermore, using a spring-loaded window punch, without appropriate hand protection, increased the chance of suffering cuts on the hand than the use of the hammer-type device. Regardless, rescue personnel should always wear an appropriate water rescue, neoprene, or fire glove when using any type of device to shatter door windows or vehicle rear windows.

About the Author

Gerald Dworkin is a professional aquatics safety and water rescue consultant for Lifesaving Resources Inc. (lifesaving.com) and is responsible for aquatics safety, lifeguard, water rescue, and ice rescue training curricula and programs. He also consults as an expert in drowning and aquatic injury litigation. He is a graduate from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, and has over 30 years professional experience in the fire, EMS, and water rescue sector. He is currently a firefighter/EMT for the Harrisville (NH) Fire and Rescue Department. For more information, visit www.lifesaving.com, or e-mail Gerry at admin@lifesaving.com.

Boy Scout Disaster Drill October 10th

Hello Everybody:

I have more details about this exercise on October 10th, 2009.

This exercise will be in conjunction with the West Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America Camporee to be held in Denmark on October 9-11. The exercise will be on Saturday October 10th from 9am - 12pm and repeated at 1pm - 3 pm.

This is shaping up very well and will be a multi-agency drill involving the Madison County Fire Department, The City of Jackson Fire Department, Medical Center Emergency Medical Service, Madison County Schools Transportation Department, CERT, and the Jackson-Madison County Emergency Management Agency.

We need to have as many CERT members/instructors as are available participate.

Here is the scenario:

The Madison Co School Bus Dept will have two buses staged at the scene. One bus will be "involved" in a major accident with a wide range of injuries. Boy Scouts will portray the victims to be treated and extracted by EMS and the Fire Departments.

Older Scouts will perform immediate first aid and help get "walking wounded" and un-injured off their respective buses before First Responders arrive. We need CERT members to assist with this and to mentor the Scouts. CERT will set up a Triage area and demonstrate to the Scouts how to do this.

This will be a great opportunity to brush up on your skills and perform a great service for the Scouts. Please make every effort to attend and bring your kits.

The exercise will be held at 550 Shady Grove Road in Denmark. From I40, take Exit 76; turn left on TN-223; Turn left at Britton Lane/TN-223 and continue on TN-223; Camporee at 550 Shady Grove in Denmark.
(Click on the map above to enlarge)

Thank you, in advance, for your participation.

G. Michael Winslow
CERT Coordinator
JMC-EM / TN Homeland Security District 10

CDC H1N1 Flu Situation Update, September 26, 2009

Key Flu Indicators

Each week CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes findings of key flu indicators in a report called FluView. During the week of September 13-19, 2009, a review of the key indicators found that influenza activity continued to increase in the United States compared to the prior weeks. Below is a summary of the most recent key indicators:

Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) are increasing nationally. Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness are higher than what is expected during this time of year and have increased for six consecutive weeks now. This is very unusual for this time of year.

Total influenza hospitalization rates for adults and children are similar to or lower than seasonal influenza hospitalization rates depending on age group, but are higher than expected for this time of year.

The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report was low and within the bounds of what is expected at this time of year. However, 49 pediatric deaths related to 2009 H1N1 flu have been reported to CDC since April 2009, including three deaths reported this week.

Twenty-six states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. They are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. Any reports of widespread influenza activity in September are very unusual.

Almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far are 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses. These viruses remain similar to the viruses chosen for the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, and remain susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir with rare exception.

Boy Scout Emergency Drill

To All CERT Team Leaders and Members:

On October 10, 2009, the West Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Jackson-Madison Emergency Management Agency will have a joint disaster exercise. This will coincide with the Boy Scout West Tennessee Camporee held on a farm (TBD) in the Britton Lane Battlefield area.

The scenario will involve a school bus incident with multiple injuries. The Jackson-Madison School Transportation Dept will also be involved in the drill.

We would like to have as many CERT members participate in the drill with the Boy Scouts. This would be an excellent opportunity to work as teams or individuals to practice you skills such as utilizing ‘spontaneous volunteers’ (the Scouts) at a disaster scene.

The drill will be run two or three times in order to involve as many Scouts as possible and this will give you an opportunity to practice different CERT duties. This will last most of the day, but you can leave if needed

I will send you more details as we have them. Please check the District 10 CERT web site for information on this drill. http://dist10cert.blogspot.com/

Please respond via email if you will be available to participate in this drill. This will be written up and sent to Citizen’s Corp for their CERT Newsletter.

Thank you, in advance, for your time and efforts.

G. Michael Winslow, CERT Coordinator

Jackson-Madison Co / TN Homeland Security District 10