Monday, December 14, 2009 I wanted to share some pictures of the anatomy of the vehicle we cut on this past Saturday morning on I-66 that will hopefully serve as a quick reminder of why we have to do our job right every time we go out the bay doors.  Here are two pictures of the side-curtain air-bag system and one picture of where we cut the roof of this particular vehicle to gain access to the trapped patient.  I hope this will drive home why we must expose and remove all plastic prior to making any cuts.  Please notice how close our crew came to the canister with our cut with the Hilti recip saw as well as the Hurst MOC Cutters.  Obviously, the exact location of these canisters is different on every make and model vehicle on the road as you will notice just how far back from the edge of the roof line this particular canister sits.  Unit officers please ensure this "Rip then Strip" technique happens every time to prevent our personnel from making a Close Calls report or even worse.  This task can be time consuming so, an excellent time management technique is to have the unit officer remove the plastic and glass while the crew stabilizes the vehicle.  This is merely a suggestion and a quick reminder to everyone as to just how dangerous our job can be and how the citizens we serve expect the best from us at all times.  I thank you all for your attention to this matter.  Stay safe and stay low.