FW: Please pass this along to your city/county EMT's

[Guest guest]

Subject: Please pass this along to your city/county EMT's

Y'all:

My brother is an EMT/Asst County Coroner in Northern Pennsylvania. The

information below was received by his department yesterday. He passed it

along to me this morning and asked that I send it out across the D/FW

area. Many EMT's and other first responders may not (yet) have heard of

this suicide method and the health hazards it presents to first

responders arriving at a scene...

Please pass this information along to the appropriate authorities (Fire,

LE, ME, EMT) in your cities/county...

Thank you

Jay Thatcher

Emergency Preparedness Coordinator

Health Emergency Alert Response Team (HEART)

Denton County Health Department, Denton, TX

Cell

james.thatcher@...

Person Down in Auto/New way to commit suicide

Recently a new way to commit suicide has been discovered by mixing two

chemicals that can be bought over the counter at local stores. They are

Bonide - a sulfur spray used as an insecticide for fruit trees and

hydrochloric (muriatic) acid. Once mixed, the chemicals produce heat

and a flammable, noxious gas that causes the subject to pass out and the

heart stop within minutes. The process appears to be quick and

painless. Two recent cases, one in Pasadena, California and the other

at Lake Allatoona in Bartow County, Georgia, involved young men in their

early 20's. Both were found locked inside their cars with the

chemicals. Each left a note on the car warning anyone around of danger.

The car at Lake Allatoona had been taped to prevent gas from escaping.

Does this sound like a routine call that most of us would respond to and

take similar action?

It's Sunday morning 0730 hours, you respond to a person down in auto.

You locate a car in the empty parking lot of a business. The engine and

med unit pull up near the vehicle and personnel see a person inside that

appears to be asleep or unconscious. Wearing safety glasses and medical

gloves, you walk up to the car and knock on the window.

The patient does not respond to your knock on the window, and the doors

are locked.

What action will you take? Will you hurry to make patient access? Will

you use a lockout tool, center punch, or halligan to make entry?

You make access, a rush of warm air comes out of the vehicle and you

smell a sharp odor. You have just become a victim and have been exposed

to a noxious possibly fatal gas.

What could you have done differently? You are the first-in unit. How

should you respond to this type of incident?

1. Do not become complacent! Your response should be similar on every

call.

2. Be well trained, know your job, do your job.

3. Start your size-up from the time a call is dispatched.

4. Establish a strong command and control the scene.

5. Don't go rushing in.

6. Survey the scene.

7. Does the scene look routine?

8. Do you see anything unusual? (Example: A note on the window,

containers

inside the vehicle and taped windows or vents).

9. Is the scene safe?

10. Wear the appropriate PPE.

11. Establish a Hot Zone.

12. Develop a plan of action and coordinate activities.

13. Call for additional resources. (Hazmat Team, PD, etc.)

14. Did PD arrive prior to FD and become contaminated requiring

emergency decon and first aid?

The call listed in the first paragraph of this document started as a

routine person down call. This type of incident can easily expand into

a full blown Hazardous Materials Incident with a multijurisdictional

response. Be aware of this new way to commit suicide and don't become a

victim. Use common sense and stay safe.

To review a newspaper article and pictures regarding the suicide in

Pasadena, California, visit:

http://beaconmedianews.com/2008/08/26/23-year-old-man-commits-suicide-wi

th-chemicals-inside-2003-vw-bug/

To review a newspaper article and pictures regarding the suicide in

Barton, Georgia visit:

http://www.daily-tribune.com/index.cfm?event=news.view&id=674BB0CD-19B9-

E2E2-676EC6D537211BFE