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				TRAINING
		Date		Title / Topic
		10/11/05		State Farm Training Videos
		10/11/05		Decipher Vehicle Identification Number
		10/10/05		Airbag Identification -- Part 1
		10/10/05		The Pretensioner
		10/01/05		Tunneling
		10/01/05		Take the Fire Safety Quiz
		09/01/05		Honda Extrication Guide (pdf)
		05/15/05		Training Burn
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How To Decipher Vehicle Identification Numbers

Updated: 11-15-2004 07:52:54 PM
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RON MOORE
Firehouse.Com Contributor

In most countries every road vehicle (bus, van, truck, car, motorcycle, moped and trailer) is required to have a Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, which consists of 17 characters, as originally defined by the International Organization for Standardization, Standard 3779. VINs have been required in the U.S. by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 115 since Sept. 1, 1980, covering model year 1981 and newer vehicles.

Fortunately for emergency responders, each VIN contains a secret code that indicates the model year in which the vehicle was manufactured. Although emergency responders know about VINs, few responders are aware of the model year coding. All we have to do is count to 10 and read the basic chart.

Knowing the model year in which the vehicle was built can be beneficial to fire officers or fire investigators compiling reports about a vehicle fire or extrication. Of special interest to rescue and extrication personnel, the dashboard VIN plates on some vehicles may also contain additional wording or line-art drawings informing of the presence of frontal or side-impact airbag systems.

The Vehicle Identification Number is a 17-character sequence of letters and numbers assigned by the manufacturer when the vehicle is built. In the VIN-code, capital letters I, O and Q are not used for obvious reasons. No signs or spaces are allowed in the VIN.

In North America, the 17-character VIN is divided into four sections:

·  The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer, make and type of vehicle (with the exception of manufacturers that produce fewer than 500 vehicles per year).

·  The second section consists of five characters (VIN positions four to eight) and identify the attributes of the vehicle. For each type of vehicle (passenger cars, MPVs, trucks, buses, trailers, motorcycles or incomplete vehicles other than trailers), different information is reported.

·  The third section of the VIN consists of one character which is the "check" digit, a security feature of this numbering system. This character can be numeric or the letter X.

·  The fourth section consists of eight characters, positions 10-17 of the VIN. The first character, position number 10, represents the vehicle model year. Position 11 represents the plant of manufacture. Positions 12 through 17 form a sequential production number.

VIN Year Code

The year code in the Vehicle Identification Number is the 10th position. The recommended key for this 10th digit is given in the chart below. Note that starting with model year 2001 vehicles, the 10th position “year code” will be a number instead of a letter. The year code can be the calendar year in which a vehicle is built, or a model or type year allocated by the manufacturer.

The VIN is stamped or etched into a small metal strip that is riveted to the upper left corner of the instrument panel on all domestic passenger vehicles. At a crash scene, however, this VIN plate may be obstructed. Broken windshield glass or a crumpled hood may temporarily block your clear view of the VIN. A crash or fire may also damage the dash and instrument panel.

On newer model vehicles, the VIN may also be found in an alternate location. Check the latch edge of the driver’s door for a large white sticker. This bar-coded Vehicle Identification Number label contains the VIN plus other valuable information about the specific vehicle. If the white label is not on the end of the drivers door, look along the B-pillar, as you may find it in the vicinity of the B-pillar door latch mechanism.

One new potential location for VINs is on all the glass of the vehicle. Having the VIN etched into automobile glass is a new deterrent against auto theft.

Validating Model Year

To validate the model year for a vehicle check the letter in the 10th position of the VIN. The example below shows the letter and the corresponding year for the one specific vehicle, a 1990 Audi sedan. Note that the letter in the 10th position of the VIN is an L-indicating the 1990 model year automobile.

WAUHE5438LN600074

The VIN for a large 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier shown below contains the letter H in the 10th position, indicating a 1987 model year automobile.

1G1JE1119HJ162212

Task: Using the VIN "Model Year" Code Chart, determine the correct model year for the vehicles with the following VINs:

1HGCD5623SA034651

2G2FV22GXW2221778

1HMCD5537RC024047

1FABP53U2KAI54647

1HGCB7275PA028120

YV1FA8942L2420034

1G4AG55M4S6405489

1FMDU34X7TZA04833

WDBDA28D8MF800337

University of Extrication
Airbag Identification -- Part 1

Originally Published: October 1998

Series Links: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

RONALD E. MOORE
University of Extrication Editor

We all agree that it is vital for responders to quickly identify all potential safety concerns at a crash scene. Determining the presence of airbags inside the vehicle is no exception. Parts 1 and 2 of this edition of the University Of Extrication focus on a recommended procedure called "scanning" for airbags. Part 3 presents tips on opening jammed doors when scanning reveals side-impact airbags are in the doors.

When airbags were located only on the driver and front passenger side of a vehicle, it was easy to scan for airbags. With a quick look at the steering column and another glance at the glove compartment area, you'd have the whole story. Now with the advent of knee airbags, airbags in the roofline, airbags for rear-seat passengers and a wide variety of side-impact airbag systems, rescuers have a more difficult task determining where airbags are located.

Before we can learn how to scan the vehicle's interior, we first need to know what we are looking for. Fortunately for us, all automakers are offering some form of visual identification indicating the presence of airbags in a vehicle. Unfortunately, there is no standardization as to type or location of these "airbag ID" labels.

Let's begin by studying the means of identifying the newest supplemental restraint systems, side-impact airbags. Side-impact airbags are occupant safety features that an increasing number of automakers are designing into their vehicles. Approximately 34 of the 1998 model year vehicles were equipped with side-impact airbags. An even larger number of vehicles will offer side airbags in the 1999 model year.

The 1998 and 1999 model vehicles with side-impact airbags all have at least one form of airbag ID. There are four basic types of seat airbag IDs used by automakers today, several sizes of blowout panels and IDs for door-mounted units, a roofline airbag ID and IDs for rear-seat airbags.

Side-impact airbag locations can include the following:
• Windshield/VIN plate
• Front door
• Front seat
• B-pillar
• A-pillar/roofline
• Rear seat

Using the photographs presented in this article, study the various examples of seat, door and roofline airbag IDs and become familiar with their typical locations. Remember, it is possible that the vehicle you are studying can have side-impact airbags in more than just one location.

Part 2 will present a scanning process for use by first-arriving responders that will assure that all front, side, rear-seat and knee airbags are identified quickly and accurately at a crash scene.

 Whether the all-new Jeep Cherokee is carrying people to the shopping centre or to the mountains, safety is always an integral part. Important active and passive safety features provide the protection and peace of mind customers expect from the 4x4 pioneer. Cherokee’s sturdy construction comes from a network of high-strength alloy steel beams, rails and pillars that surround and protect occupants.

Standard multi-stage driver and passenger front air bags are designed to deploy at different levels depending on the severity of the impact and whether the occupant is wearing a safety belt. Available side curtain air bags provide additional head protection for both front and rear outboard occupants. The all-new Cherokee also features a seat belt pretensioner in the driver’s position and constant force retractors for both driver and front passenger.

BELT PRETENSIONERS

We work on many supplemental products to possibly improve the performance of a seat belt system. Depending on the application and desired performance, we offer products which can pretension seats, buckles and seatbelt systems and better position the occupant in the seat during a crash.

Seat belt pretensioners are also being installed in more vehicles. The pretensioner is designed to take up slack in the seat belt so that the “ride down” effect can start sooner. It also helps to position the occupant back and squarely in the seat so that the air bag can more effectively deploy. At the crash scene, disconnect the seat belt immediately. This will prevent an undeployed pretensioner from injuring the victim if it deploys during extrication.

The Pretensioner
The idea of a pretensioner is to tighten up any slack in the belt webbing in the event of a crash. Whereas the conventional locking mechanism in a retractor keeps the belt from extending any farther, the pretensioner actually pulls in on the belt. This force helps move the passenger into the optimum crash position in his or her seat. Pretensioners normally work together with conventional locking mechanisms, not in place of them.

There are a number of different pretensioner systems on the market. Some pretensioners pull the entire retractor mechanism backward and some rotate the spool itself. Generally, pretensioners are wired to the same central control processor that activates the car's air bags. The processor monitors mechanical or electronic motion sensors that respond to the sudden deceleration of an impact. When an impact is detected, the processor activates the pretensioner and then the air bag.

Some pretensioners are built around electric motors or solenoids, but the most popular designs today use pyrotechnics to pull in the belt webbing. The diagram below shows a representative model.

The central element in this pretensioner is a chamber of combustible gas. Inside the chamber, there is a smaller chamber with explosive igniter material. This smaller chamber is outfitted with two electrodes, which are wired to the central processor.

When the processor detects a collision, it immediately applies an electrical current across the electrodes. The spark from the electrodes ignites the igniter material, which combusts to ignite the gas in the chamber. The burning gas generates a great deal of outward pressure. The pressure pushes on a piston resting in the chamber, driving it upward at high speed.

A rack gear is fastened to one side of the piston. When the piston shoots up, the rack gear engages a gear connected to the retractor spool mechanism. The speeding rack rotates the spool forcefully, winding up any slack belt webbing.

Tunneling is one of the exercises we are going to in the Extrication class.  You may want to think about how we would do it with the equipment we currently have.

The car pictured above has been pretty well worked over. A tunneling operation was performed to access through rear speaker deck. An access hole large enough to get personnel through was created in the floor pan. The top-side door was removed. The roof was flapped down. Rear and front passenger seats were removed. To top it all off a modified dash displacement was performed. As the vehicle bends from the ram, the Res-Q-Jack™ jack stands allow for quick adjustment to maintain secure stabilization.

These are technician level operations requiring a thorough understanding of the equipment involved and its proper application. The stands are oriented in such a manner as to restrict forward and rearward motion of the vehicle in addition to side to side movement. During the cutting and displacement operations, each stand was monitored closely. Redundant base restraints are a must as a safe backup. Each situation may dictate unique precautions.

March 5th 2005 at Saturday 9:00 AM County Multiple Causality Incident Training Training with stations 4, 6, 8 KEMS and KSD, 5 victims Extrication from burning building, Triage and Transport followed by Evaluation and critique at station 4

March 7th 2005 Monday 6:00PM Live Burn Practice Internal Practice of fire science and extinguishment from inside the house

March 12th Saturday 9:00AM Ventilation and fire Investigation Practice of ventilation tools, and Horizontal, vertical, positive and negative pressure ventilation

March 14th 2005 Monday 6:00 PM Live Burn Practice Internal Practice of fire science and extinguishment from inside the house

March 19th 2005 Saturday 9:00AM Fully involved structure Tanker shuttle, fully involved structure fire fighting practice

following extinguishment LUNCH Bring a dish to pass that can be eaten in the field