….and then there was silence

[Chas]

This is a link to a blog by a Police Officer that a Police Officer friend sent to me, makes horrible reading, a head on collision where no initial injuries occured but a driver died anyway.

http://minimumcover.wordpress.com/2011/ ... s-silence/

 

[Chris5-7chev]

Hi Chas, that's a shocking read, I spent 3 years working with the Police on the vehicle recovery scheme and as such have
probably been closer than most to the worst kind of traffic collisions, certainly as quite often the only civilian on the scene.
We were trained to safely remove/load the wreckage however bad the collision may have been, followed obviously by dropping
it all off in a brightly lit building for storage and maybe examination.
By far the hardest part of the job usually came a few days later when members of the family arrived to collect belongings
and view the car or what was left of it, if they wished.
We weren't trained for the family liason part but did our best to answer questions in a quiet and respectful way.
I wouldn't blame the officer if he saw his way to the bottom of a bottle of brandy after a shift like that, he did his best.
Thanks for posting that one Chas.

Chris S.

 

[nivapilot]

Sad, very sad.

 

[Crushers]

brought a tear ...
sad

i would not want to be that cop.

 

[MuckyPup]

Just ordered a new first aid kit and Afff fire extinguisher.
Been meaning to for weeks now..........

 

[Chas]

Just ordered a new first aid kit and Afff fire extinguisher.
Been meaning to for weeks now..........

I now have four extinguishers in my 80, two powder and two from Daniel and I think you could run a small hospital with my 1st aid kit.

 

[Crushers]

umm, remember to remove the source of the power.
disconnect the battery in the event of an accident. no power (fuel), no fire. as long as the wire has power flowing through it then it can reignite even with repeated doucings of extinguisher.

 

[Chas]

umm, remember to remove the source of the power.
disconnect the battery in the event of an accident. no power (fuel), no fire. as long as the wire has power flowing through it then it can reignite even with repeated doucings of extinguisher.

Quite right, I had a 'fire' once but it was just a cable to the back of the truck feeding a 12v socket shorting out, my mate grabbed the extinguisher I pulled the fuse, luckily nothing burst into flames another thing to do, no matter how short a time the extinguiser was used for, throw it away, it could be empty the next time you need it

 

[BobMurphy]

Back in the 70s I stopped at a Service Station on the M6 for fuel.

I had just filled-up when a brown Austin Allegro with two women in it pulled in behind - with flames coming out the front .

I shouted to them that they were on fire, they jumped out and ran.

The guy filling up opposite jumped into his car and roared off.

I told my wife to get into the driver's seat and get ready to drive off.

I grabbed an extinguisher from the forecourt and tackled the fire through the front grill - I had read that the last thing you should do is open the bonnet. Another fellah came over to help and we got the fire out.

It was the ignition wires and the coil that were burning.

Next thing . . The girl from the kiosk was over with a claim form wanting me to replace the extinguisher

I pointed to the two figures in the distance and told her to get them to sign, paid and left.

Its funny now, but it could have been serious.

Bob.

 

[Cptsideways]

For those who do it on a daily basis I thank you.


I have had a vaguely similar experience, though not involving fire but a trapped driver involved in a head on, as myself & another driver were giving life to life before the ambulance team arrived. The chap died on his way to hospital.


Not a nice thing to experience & it still sends shivers down my spine everytime I pass the spot at Chicklade on the A303. A nice thing was receiving a thankyou message from the family at our efforts to save the old chap.


Pretty much since that day I have also owned Volvo's, I learnt something about safe cars that day.