The next time one of you pax pass out when we state that you cannot secure your bags after a search and vapor lock, I can finally test out the new high voltage jumper cable kit on the wall.

Why not give it a whirl right now?

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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

They cook burgers too

Just watch where you hook those things up!

Yo CG.....wanna have some fun ????

Jan 28, 2004 10:52 am US/Eastern
(1010 WINS) (New London, Conn.) A paramedic using a defibrillator in
an attempt to restart the heart of a New London woman, instead set
her on fire, police said.

A spark from the machine ignited the clothes of 47-year-old Brenda
Jewett inside an ambulance Monday night, police said.

Jewett was pronounced dead at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. Neither
the paramedic nor other members of the ambulance crew were injured
by
the flames, which were doused with a fire extinguisher.

Jewett's husband had called for the ambulance after finding his wife
unconscious on their couch Monday evening.

The cause of Jewett's death is expected to be determined by an
autopsy Wednesday.

The New London County State' s Attorney' s Office has initiated an
investigation, asking the State Police Major Crime Squad, state and
local fire marshals and the state Office of Emergency Medical
Services to examine the fire.

"I've been in this business 20 years and I've never heard of
something like this," Leonard Guercia Jr., director of the state
Emergency Medical Services, told The Day of New London.

Mary Newman, of the National Center for Early Defibrillation in
Pittsburgh, said her group has never received a report of a
defibrillator starting a fire. She said she doubted that it was the
fire or the defibrillator that caused Jewett's death.

"When you defibrillate a person, they are already dead," she
said. "The purpose of the defibrillator is to bring them back to
life. So you can't make them any worse off than they are."

Sorry, screeners, this is going too far!

That's a pretty broad definition of "dead".

I can imagine that if the paddle was placed on a particularly conductive piece of clothing, the current might flow along the clothing instead of into the person (preferrably through the heart).

Now imagine that person wearing (shock of shocks) an underwire bra. Current follows the path of least resistance. Since the underwire has a higher conductance (less resistance) than the human body, the majority of the current flows along the underwire, which dissipates some of the current as heat. Surrounding the underwire is a bra, which now gets hot and... surprise! Catches fire.

Was a Medic and Supervisor for over 20 years in NYC. When defibrillating you remove/cut anything covering the chest and make sure you are not touching the person (hence the famous call "clear") or kneeling in water. Chances are the women had a blouse or house coat (which can be very flammable) with small metal buttons on. Cause an arc and you have a human candle.

Had a medic who had a cardiac arrest in a cemetery (plenty of jokes there). The ground was so moist that when he hit the shock button he zapped himself. He woke up, and found himself in a grave. He thought they were burying him alive.

Exactly. If someone needs resuscitation, modesty goes out the window and clothing above the waist is cut off or otherwise removed.

Spiff,

How long until the word "resuscitation" is replaced with "transportation" in the above sentence??

The clothing below the waist (waste?) comes off then, too.

------------------
"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

[This message has been edited by Spiff (edited Jan 31, 2004).]

Hey Spiff, you can change your tag line to:

"Give me Modesty or give me Death." - Mrs. Patrick Henry

;}

Just once, with a conjunctional correction.

---------------

"Give me Modesty and give me Death." - Mrs. Patrick Henry



[This message has been edited by Spiff (edited Feb 01, 2004).]

LOL