http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN46RCcbH2w&feature=related


This video of racer Giorgio Bartocci almost burning alive in a Lamborghini race car after an awful crash this weekend is both graphic and infuriating, as you can see the "safety crew" idling about as teammates extract the burning driver.

http://jalopnik.com/5546461/race-car-driver-barely-survives-horrific-fiery-crash...

I don't think idling about is a fair assessment of the safety crews response. 

You have no way of knowing how hot that fire was, or how difficult it was to get to the driver.  To my untrained eye those firefighters seemed to be making a well organized and coordinated effort to attack the fire. 

The first thing you learn in any first aid course is, stop assess the situation and don't create another casualty.  Assuming that video is shot in real time, 14 seconds after the car comes to a stop on a hot track, the first firefighter is on the scene.  By the time 1 minute has passed they're making a coordinated attack on the large fire and the driver has been pulled clear.  The "teammates" running in to try and help just got in the way.  The one guy who thought he was helping couldn't get close because of the heat of the flames.

Watch the video again and see how firefighters respond, remember its a hot track when the first responders run onto the track.

db

As this is a family forum, I can't repeat my first thoughts...

Hope the driver makes a full recovery.....

Did anyone count how many fire extinguishers were used and then I would ask how many we have available around the track should the unthinkable happen.....?

I would happily throw a few bucks into the pot to buy a couple more....

If you have been near a gas fire of that magnitude you would realize why the fireman was not going close until the fire was controlled. The heat off the fire is extreamly hot. At an airshow they would lite a row of flame to simulate a bombing run 100 yards from the spectators and the heat off it was amazing. I can't imagine what it would be like 10 feet away.

Didn't the club, at one time, have a large foam filled canister for use in larger fires? Or, is my aging memory failing me?

I'm thinking of something filled with a product similar to the AAAF used in some fire suppression systems.

So, essentially two questions: Didn't we used to have something like that? and, Could we use something like that?

This spring we did have a fire training program at the track so that all workers would have the opportunity to learn how to handle a fire. Most of the workers on the corners at River’s Edge have had training at some point, and it is expected that anyone that does first response would have training. E-crew would generally be dispatched fairly quickly (Race Control releases them) when a request comes from a turn - in a case like the one in the video that request would be immediate (Vic - THE VOICE OF RACE CONTROLL - runs a tight ship when it comes to how we communicate emergency situations).

This is the protocol from a first responder’s point of view;

• Look after your own safety first (you do not want to add to a situation by pulling a driver from a burning car before it is safe to do so -assuming the heat isn't so intense you can get that close).
• Evaluate the situation first (this doesn't take long for anyone with experience and saves time and confusion).
• Make sure the Driver is safe (this would suggest putting flames out around the driver would be a high priority).

Although poor training hindered the responders in the video, I do see some obstacles they had to deal with:

• The cars Fire suppression unit was either non existent or non functional.
• There appeared to be a lot of flammable materials in the car, the body work also appeared to be flammable.
• Fuel seemed to be leaking from the car. This one is a big issue, you see them continually putting fire out in the same spots just to have it flash up again (Cold Fire is used at the track to take away the heat to prevent re-ignition). I have to wonder if that car had an approved fuel cell. If I were to rescue a driver from a car in a situation like this I would want someone watching my back with a fire extinguisher (something that would undoubtedly be automatic at our track), however by that point our Doctor would probably have assessed the situation and a trained E-crew person would be removing the driver.

Drivers at River’s Edge should be aware that our safety trucks are strategically placed for very quick response times,  and can move between some turns without going onto the racing surface.

Any time anyone wants a tour of our facilities  just ask a safety worker and we will gladly show you  that means the guys in white and the guys in orange, we are here to help