True/False: All airbags should be treated as live during extrication?

True/False: All airbags should be treated as live during extrication?

• A. False
• B. True
• C. It depends on the vehicle
• D. Only during maintenance

Answer: (B)

Airbags store and can release energy through inflators even while you’re working on a vehicle, so you must treat them as live during extrication. The system includes multiple airbags (frontal, side, curtain, knee, etc.) linked to high voltage supplies and control modules, with capacitors that can hold charge and inflators that could still trigger if power is present. Because of this risk, the safe practice is to assume all airbags are live until the system is properly isolated—disconnect the battery, follow the vehicle’s deactivation procedures, and allow any stored energy to dissipate before continuing work. This universal caution helps protect responders from unexpected deployment or other hazards, regardless of the vehicle type or whether airbags appear deployed.

Airbags store and can release energy through inflators even while you’re working on a vehicle, so you must treat them as live during extrication. The system includes multiple airbags (frontal, side, curtain, knee, etc.) linked to high voltage supplies and control modules, with capacitors that can hold charge and inflators that could still trigger if power is present. Because of this risk, the safe practice is to assume all airbags are live until the system is properly isolated—disconnect the battery, follow the vehicle’s deactivation procedures, and allow any stored energy to dissipate before continuing work. This universal caution helps protect responders from unexpected deployment or other hazards, regardless of the vehicle type or whether airbags appear deployed.