A worker at a chemical plant was working on a high-pressure tank containing chlorine gas when the valve broke, filling the room with chlorine gas and throwing the patient forcefully against the wall. He was unresponsive and trapped in the room for 10 minutes, until being pulled out by firefighters. As he is brought to your location, he appears unresponsive. Your first action in caring for this

patient would be to:

A) assess breathing and auscultate breath sounds.
B) open the airway using the head-tilt, chin-lift.
C) determine the presence or absence of a pulse.
D) take in-line manual spinal stabilization.

D