Air bag inflators can explode or fragment during a fire
“Four incidents have now been documented in which the inflator of the driver`s side air bag has exploded or fragmented during a fire,” reports Phil Vossmeyer, department chair of the Automotive Service Management Program at Cincinnati (OH) State Technical and Community College.
Vossmeyer cites the following incidents. The information provided was taken from fire department reports.
On September 19, 1995, Cedar Hammock Fire Department, Engine Company No. 211, Manatee County, Florida, responded to a noncollision vehicle fire involving a 1994 Ford Aspire. The Aspire was heavily involved with fire, which was quickly knocked down. On inspection, it was found that the driver`s-side air bag inflator had exploded with such force that the top half of the steel assembly was ripped in half, propelling it upward, causing a large indentation to the vehicle roof; it then ricocheted inside the vehicle and finally came to rest on the ground approximately 15 feet in front of the vehicle. Two rivets, each approximately one-quarter inch wide by two inches long, pierced the roof like bullets. One rivet protruded through the roof; the other rivet completely passed through the roof and could not be located. (See “Air Bag Inflator Explosion,” Leigh T. Hollins, Fire Engineering, December 1996.)
An air bag inflator on a 1994 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup exploded on January 22, 1996, and was reported by Loudoun County (VA) Fire and Rescue Department. During a noncollision vehicle fire, a portion of the inflator (a circular piece three inches in diameter and two inches in length) separated and became a projectile upon chemical combustion inside the inflator. The broken piece was found between the vehicle`s cab wall and bed wall. A three-inch-diameter hole was found in the cab wall behind the driver`s seat, and the bed wall directly behind the hole was significantly deflected rearward.
On December 27, 1997, in Denver, Colorado, an air bag inflator on a 1996 Ford Aspire exploded during a noncollision fire. A four-inch-diameter hole caused by the gas cylinder for the driver`s-side air bag was found above the steering wheel. The remains of the cylinder, bolts, other metal pieces, and burnt fragments of the air bag were found approximately 100 feet from the rear of the vehicle.
An air bag inflator in a 1994 Nissan exploded on January 14, 1997, in Syosset, Long Island, New York, during a noncollision fire. The air bag and part of the inflator exploded and propelled the air bag and parts of the inflator through the vehicle`s closed sun roof. The pieces landed approximately 10 feet behind the vehicle.
In all reported cases of inflator explosion, the module had been propelled to the front or the rear of the vehicle. Therefore, Vossmeyer cautions, it is important to continue to follow current firefighting techniques for vehicle fires (remain to the side of the vehicle at a 457 angle; never approach from the front or back of the vehicle). No injuries have been reported to date as a result of exploding air bag components.
Be aware, Vossmeyer adds, that car manufacturers purchase air bag components from a limited number of manufacturers and do not build their own inflator modules. In addition, no one type of inflator module has been found to be at fault. It is important, therefore, to be cautious and aware of this hazard in all vehicle fires, he says.
Explosion theories
Vossmeyer explains that there are two theories surrounding the explosion of the inflator unit. First, the angle of flame impingement on the inflator module weakens the metal by direct flame contact and, because of the high thermal conductivity of the metal inflator module, ignites the module`s chemicals through conduction. This is not the normal combustion process that takes place in the inflator module. Normal combustion in the inflator is accomplished by initiating the autoignition materials, which in turn ignite the nitrogen-producing chemicals at a semicontrolled rate. When the module`s exterior is heated by external flame, unequal heating takes place and tremendous pressure is built up in the already heat-weakened module, creating a breach in the module.
The second theory is that the air bag melts and covers the holes of the inflator. When the inflator ignites, pressure is retained in the inflator, causing separation.
Regardless of which theory is applied, Vossmeyer stresses, responders must be extremely cautious at the scene of a vehicle fire when air bag-equipped vehicles are involved, Vossmeyer stresses.
Medical Assistance Information Sheet aids information gathering
Challenges to gathering basic medical information during some types of emergency medical calls prompted Lieutenant Doug Hanham, a 28-year veteran of the Hamilton, Ontario, Fire Department, to develop a Medical Assistance Information Sheet.
“We respond to many calls involving seniors who live alone but are unresponsive or unable to communicate with us owing to a heart attack, stroke, seizure, or other medical problem,” Hanham explains. “In these cases it is very difficult to gather basic information such as their doctor`s name, a brief medical history, the name of a contact person, and the next of kin.” Last year, more than 65 percent of the 16,205 alarms answered by the department were classified as inhalator calls, which include heart problems, convulsions, seizures, breathing difficulties, strokes, drownings, and suicides.
On the sheet, residents can indicate vital information such as their name, date of birth, and health card number; the name, address, and phone number of a contact person; the doctor`s name and phone number; a brief medical history; a medication schedule; known allergic reactions to medications; and other special considerations. The resident is asked to complete the sheet, keep it updated, and post it in an obvious location such as the refrigerator door so that medical emergency responders will have access to the information should the patient be unconscious or otherwise unable to give the information himself. It can also be used when traveling.
In-service fire crews are now distributing the forms as they conduct their annual home fire safety inspection program. The forms are expected to be delivered to seniors` groups, residences, and apartments across the city by the end of October.
Yvorra Foundation accepting
applications for scholarships
Applications for Yvorra Leadership Development (YLD) Foundation, Inc. scholarships must be received by September 11. Awards will be announced in October 1998. The Foundation was founded in 1988 in honor of Deputy Fire Chief James G. Yvorra, who was killed in the line of duty. YLD has awarded nearly $30,000 in scholarships to members of the fire and emergency medical services. For additional information, call (410) 586-3048, web site: http://www.chesapeake.net/~yld.
Agricultural enterprises not exempted from federal haz mat safety regulations
Congress turned down an amendment to the $216 billion Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, TEA 21 bill, which would have allowed agricultural motor carriers to transport large quantities of hazardous materials without placards and shipping papers. The bill is a six-year surface transportation plan that represents the nation`s biggest investment in construction for the U.S. Highway System since the 1950s.
Major fire service organization members of the Congressional Fire Services Institute opposed the amendment and had sought the assistance of Fire Caucus Cochairman Senator John McCain and Fire Caucus Member Senator Ernest Hollings to help defeat the amendment. At press time, it was expected that President Clinton would sign the bill.
HUD: NFPA to develop standards for manufactured housing
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has selected the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) “to be a consensus standards development organization to develop and maintain recommended standards for the manufactured housing program,” according to the Federal Register, June 4, 1998. One-third of all new single-family dwellings in the country are manufactured housing, according to the NFPA.
O`Neill new CFSI National Advisory Committee chair
Anthony R. O`Neill, vice president of government affairs of the National Fire Protection Association, was unanimously approved as chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Institute National Advisory Committee. He replaces Roman A. Kaminski.
Dennis Compton, chief of the Mesa (AZ) Fire Department, will be vice chairman. Representing the International Fire Service Training Association on the advisory committee, Compton will assume the responsibility as chairman of the By-Laws Subcommittee and continue as chairman of the Programmatic Committee. The next meeting is scheduled for October 29 at the Washington Hilton and Towers.
West Virginia adopts NFPA 1
The West Virginia State Fire Commission has adopted the 1997 edition of NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code, effective May 1, 1998. The code provides the minimum requirements necessary to establish a reasonable level of fire safety and property protection from hazards created by fire and explosion.
