I just did our tri-annual ambulance relicensure, as the captain of the service got fed up and stepped away. I had to go through two months of total BS, and spent a lot of time in the local emergency services office. The whole deal was mine, I could replace, remove, etc., anything I wanted... So long as they passed inspection. Which got me hooked up with some really cool free stuff when they cleaned out the county civil defense garage... 3 x suction units, old laerdal models; and a large LSP/Robertshaw "E" size kit, 34yrs old and in brand new shape.
Between two ambulances, the amount of over stocking was un-fricking-believable. Pennsylvania requires like the bare minimum of supplies. Some stuff, you want more of, some is just asinine to stock up on. Between two units; seven KED's, nine traction splints, eleven backboards, three fold-a-cot's, three scoop's, four short boards, at least three dozen air splints, 45lbs in sand bags... and a lot of Korean War Surplus... Oh, and five rolls of aluminum foil. A&P Brand.. The A&P burned down 19 days after I was born, 28 years, 7 months or so..ago.
I took a picture of all the stuff, I had to take two to get it all. Everything was off, b/c one of the rigs nailed a tree during the winter. Anyhoo.. Of the stuff removed and replaced - or just plain removed. 2 Half Ring traction splints, honestly, I used these more than Sager's or Hare's. The foil isn't required, if you have either mylar blankets, or other suitable device. The purpose is warming infants, eg. newborns. The most simple replacement is called a Silver Swaddler. Hudson BVM's, reusable - yuck. Several Life-Saver kits, every bandage that looked like it was from WWII. Home made splints, that stuff is cheap for a reason. I did leave some keen antique device on board, it's the cats behind for dislocations.
So anyhoo.. The foil.. Putting over evisceration's, keeping babies warm... We carry the required Vaseline gauze for chest wounds.. It works, used it on a stabbing victim. Used a device called an "Asherman Chest Seal" on a victim that was shot several times. It's safe to assume your multi-system trauma patient is going to be cool, shocky and diaphoretic by the time EMS arrives.. So a device that relies solely on it's thin adhesive strip will naturally not work when you need it to.