Vehicle Extrication Techniques is a book written by Ian Dunbar, the Rescue consultant for Holmatro Rescue Equipment. It provides rescuers who attend road traffic incidents with a generic overview of the vehicle crash rescue phase from start to finish.
Vehicle Extrication Techniques features impressive visuals complimenting well-written chapters. These colour coded chapters are ordered into clearly defined topics taking you from the safety background to on-scene advice and instruction. Readers can flick through with ease using the finger markers on the side of each page. Eye-catching photos of rescue techniques put in action relate well to the text and put into context what you learn as you read through the book. Visual information is laid out in a in a way that gives plenty of space for technical information whilst not feeling too overwhelming. Graphs help break down key points and this makes the book very accessible. We asked Jon Curley, our resident vehicle extrication expert, to give his opinion on this new rescue guide.
The book is written in a manner that compliments the knowledge that can be gained for any rescuer, no matter which country they are from or service they work for.
Before working for Holmatro, Ian Dunbar served as an operational fire fighter for many years, during which time he became heavily involved in the vehicle crash rescue environment both physically and medically. Later, he was also a UK Rescue Organisation competitor and judge before becoming a World Rescue Organisation judge.
This book stands out from much other writing on vehicle extrication, with a unique layout. From start to finish the book takes you through the phases of a vehicle crash incident, covering all the areas that we as rescuers face at such an incident.
Vehicle Extrication Techniques is written in a generic format which means that it can be used or adapted to fit in with the rescuer’s own procedures or SOPS (standard operational procedures). Unlike other books on the subject, it is written in a way that can be used by anyone, without relating to specifics dependant on where the rescuer comes from.
The book contains a myriad of information covering all the aspects/phases of a vehicle crash rescue based on experience and information from around the globe.
The text on some pages is complimented by Q codes, for readers to scan with a device such as a phone or tablet and watch You Tube videos of some procedures.
Unfortunately, some of the videos do not match with the activity they are meant to demonstrate very well. The ability to link a visual to the text description is a nice touch nonetheless. This is a very refreshing and a modern approach to the reading material.
Each section of the book is broken down into subjects, with a good knowledge base covered in each part.
In some areas the full or potential outcomes of the information were not covered, and left a number of aspects open for debate. These could have been included with simple paragraph.
As a rescuer I know that thousands of pages written on rescue would potentially not get read. However, this book has solved that issue by keeping the information contextual and factual.
Vehicle Extrication Techniques is a well-rounded book, offering the latest thoughts and techniques for rescuers attending road traffic collisions. The information is well written, up to date and covers every aspect of the rescue phase.
Writing a book on this subject is a difficult task and can open up opportunity for debate and critique. Extrication is an enormous subject that takes years to master, and even then there will always more to learn. I appreciate that it is not possible to cover every eventuality.
I would recommend this book to anyone involved with vehicle rescue, including medical response workers, as readers will gain good knowledge of what physical rescue entails.
Vehicle Extrication Techniques
Reviewed by Jon Curley, founder of www.rtc-rescue.com