My trip started off at the Fremont Fire Department Administrative offices for some classroom training. The picture of the hydrant below was a gift from the Recruit Class of 01-1 in appreciation for the time, knowledge and training given. Something I thought was really cool!
I have said this many times on this site. Ron Moore is one fire service instructor you need to see in person whenever you get the chance. Ron has a passion for extrication and informing firefighters with useful knowledge to stay up to date with the continuous changes in vehicle technology. Wednesday was a full day in the classroom where Ron covered airbags, hybrids and electric vehicles, and the advanced steels in vehicle body structures.
Here is a question Ron asked during the airbag portion of class. What is the maximum number of airbags possible in a vehicle? What’s your answer? 9, 12, 15, 25 or infinity. There is no easy answer! Seatbelt airbags, center mounted seat airbags, door airbags, and the list goes on and on! Also remember that the “airbag” advertisement on plastic trim and seats is just that, an advertisement. The location of the airbag and or gas inflator has no direct relation to the advertisement.
The lead instructor, Brock Archer, arranged for a BMW ActiveE electric vehicle to be displayed after lunch for everyone to review and look at. I have a bunch of the pictures of the BMW ActiveE on the Boron Extrication Facebook Page. Make sure you check the images out and if you don’t already like our Facebook page, please do!
Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 of the West Coast Extrication trip! Part 2 will be on school bus extrication and Part 3 on advanced extrication techniques.