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Where do you spot your apparatus for highways incidents?
All of us are at risk when our response area includes highways and freeways. This discussion focuses on how we use our fire apparatus to block and protect firefighters and other response personnel from being injured or killed. The number of highway and rescue workers affected yearly is staggering.
Firefighters reading this from larger metropolitan areas will have a very different insight as compared to more rural firefighters. Both metropolitan and rural emergency responses use the same tools and tactics to resolve the incident. How company officers direct their apparatus to spot is the question here.
As a company officer who works one of the most dangerous stretches of roadway in the state of California, ( along the Pacific coast and Gaviota Tunnel where the area has been declared a highway safety zone by the California Highway Patrol ) I have experienced first hand several incidents that you would call a near miss situation. People just don't always pay attention, get disracted and end up running into things, for no apparent reason. I see it over and over again as many of you also have... So, what have we done to increase our odds? Simple solution turned out to be as follows:
1. When the engineer / apparatus driver arrives on scene, just before coming to a stop in the center divider, the wheels are turned toward the median which places the engine at an angle. What this does is ensure that when the Captain and Firefighter exit the vehicle, they are not doing so into a traffic lane but into a self-created safety zone.
2. When ever possible, always try to leave a lane open for the highway patrol. Closed roads means a fiscal impact which is why you see law enforcement always trying to get a roadway open. Closed roadways also means more potential for additional accidents from other drivers who are not paying attention and run into other cars. If you want to make a friend for life, talk to the highway patrol officer as soon as they get on scene and explain that opening at least one lane is a priority and will be done as soon as you can ensure scene safety for your crew and the patient. Then follow through, making sure that your apparatus are moved in a timely fashion. This shows that you are willing to be a team player. While your at it, consider shuting down your emergency lights, at least the ones that you don't need. They tend to historically act like homing beacons for drunk drivers... The California Highway Patrol prefers that you minimize the christmas tree affect and use the standard 4-way flashers. You have to talk about this over coffee at the station with your local highway patrol officer but they teach them stuff in the academy that deals with minimizing highway accidents and providing scene safety. It's an important discussion point and you'll have something to talk about over coffee at the station which of course is a good thing when it comes to building bridges...
3. Carry at least (6) six orange highway safety cones. We place these behind our fire apparatus to both warn motorists not to slam into the back of the rig but also give them direction as to where we want them to go...
4. As prior discussions have identified, placement of a safety chevron on the rear of the fire apparatus improves visibility for approaching traffic. Los Angeles County Fire Department for example has started retrofitting their fire apparatus to include these visibility chevrons.
I hope you find this information helpful. It's all about being able to go home the next morning .
Stay safe everyone, Mike from Santa Barbara
Firefighters reading this from larger metropolitan areas will have a very different insight as compared to more rural firefighters. Both metropolitan and rural emergency responses use the same tools and tactics to resolve the incident. How company officers direct their apparatus to spot is the question here.
As a company officer who works one of the most dangerous stretches of roadway in the state of California, ( along the Pacific coast and Gaviota Tunnel where the area has been declared a highway safety zone by the California Highway Patrol ) I have experienced first hand several incidents that you would call a near miss situation. People just don't always pay attention, get disracted and end up running into things, for no apparent reason. I see it over and over again as many of you also have... So, what have we done to increase our odds? Simple solution turned out to be as follows:
1. When the engineer / apparatus driver arrives on scene, just before coming to a stop in the center divider, the wheels are turned toward the median which places the engine at an angle. What this does is ensure that when the Captain and Firefighter exit the vehicle, they are not doing so into a traffic lane but into a self-created safety zone.
2. When ever possible, always try to leave a lane open for the highway patrol. Closed roads means a fiscal impact which is why you see law enforcement always trying to get a roadway open. Closed roadways also means more potential for additional accidents from other drivers who are not paying attention and run into other cars. If you want to make a friend for life, talk to the highway patrol officer as soon as they get on scene and explain that opening at least one lane is a priority and will be done as soon as you can ensure scene safety for your crew and the patient. Then follow through, making sure that your apparatus are moved in a timely fashion. This shows that you are willing to be a team player. While your at it, consider shuting down your emergency lights, at least the ones that you don't need. They tend to historically act like homing beacons for drunk drivers... The California Highway Patrol prefers that you minimize the christmas tree affect and use the standard 4-way flashers. You have to talk about this over coffee at the station with your local highway patrol officer but they teach them stuff in the academy that deals with minimizing highway accidents and providing scene safety. It's an important discussion point and you'll have something to talk about over coffee at the station which of course is a good thing when it comes to building bridges...
3. Carry at least (6) six orange highway safety cones. We place these behind our fire apparatus to both warn motorists not to slam into the back of the rig but also give them direction as to where we want them to go...
4. As prior discussions have identified, placement of a safety chevron on the rear of the fire apparatus improves visibility for approaching traffic. Los Angeles County Fire Department for example has started retrofitting their fire apparatus to include these visibility chevrons.
I hope you find this information helpful. It's all about being able to go home the next morning .
Stay safe everyone, Mike from Santa Barbara
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris on
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Our Standard operating guidlines tell us to park in the "fend off" position, 45 degrees accross the road directly in front of the vehicle in question. That way when someone hits the truck it should just shoot them away from where we are working. What we actually do is park them pump directly accross the road, effectivley shutting it down. Then when the police tell us they need the pump shifted to open a lane, we can tell them no, because the rescue SOP states that you must have a 38mm line charged to 400kpa maned by a FF in BA, meaning our pump is engaged and can not be moved. Thay way we never have to worry about cars driving past while trying to extricate people / bodies
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Permalink Reply by Michael Simpson on
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sounds like we do pretty much the same as everybody else, although we use beacon lights along with our cones. have not heard that about lights but it makes sense. it is going to make me ask some questions thanks and be safe out there
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Permalink Reply by Scott on
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We follow the federal DOT guide. I believe you can download a copy at www.respondersafety.com
We follow the standards on our Interstates, State Highways and City streets. Our policy is written as roads are roads and vehicles are vehicles no mater the speed. I know the Fed guide is based on speeds as to what you are to follow.
We have decided to follow the highest speed guide no mater. No guess work for the first in units or IC.
If we close for a lane(s) for 30 min we use LE Squads, Apparatus and cones. Once we hit the 60 min threshold of working/closure time our County Highway dept. will be sent out with a closure truck. Barrels, Arrow board as well as signage. I have yet to see this happen but we have not had that long a closure since we started it.
The city street closing is a a little different. We rely on the local PD to close down the lanes/streets and they decide if the public works comes out in a prolonged closure.
We always use apparatus as a block. If we have to position for an extrication or layout we have an additional company set the block. We are a suburban/urban dept. I have heard that some of the rural areas around us are now dispatching a tanker (the kind with wheels not the aircraft. I guess thats a tender in most parts) to auto crashes on the highway to act as the blocker. Sounds like most of them send that non-emergency.
We for the most part have a good relationship with LEOs. But we deal with 9 LE agencies, 10 if you count Dept of Natural Resources, and some are better than others with traffic safety. We (FD & EMS) all wear vests & helmets at a minimum, most of the time we are fully turned out minus the SCBA when working in the roadway no mater the call type, we can ditch the vests if we are in SCBA or a tech rescue set up. Other than State or our County LEO's the locals tend to put on their vests once they see us.
All of our new apparatus have the chevrons and I think they are retrofitting the old ones as they are rehabbed.
One key to getting out of harms way and keeping the LEO's happy is get the job done and then get off the roadway. Do your clean up and go. Don't stand in the road and have a social meeting with guys you haven't seen in while.
Most of our paramedics will, when its safe for the patient, have their rig moved off interstates or highways to a parking lot or a legally parked position and then continue assessment and care if they are not ready to transport. That can really help get us off the roads and open lanes. Our biggest issue is working with some of the private ambulance services. They are called to back us up when we have multiple patients on crashes. Some lack the training and equipment for working on roadways. We need to kind of babysit them on the scenes. We have had them stage in a safer area and take the patient to them once we have them extricated/assessed and packaged if it's not too far or crossing traffic.
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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On a basic personal injury call the rescue will take the shoulder and the engine will stay fully in the lane around 30 feet back or so. On an entrapment the same applies except the engine will park at an angle to create that safety barrier for the crews working the accident. We also have those purdy little light up signs that say "SLOW" and "STOP" that we will put in the hands of the probies and let them direct traffic around the scene. They actually work in most cases. Of course, you will always have the idiot whose life is more important than ours.
Stay safe all!!!
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Permalink Reply by Robert on
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We follow most all of the procedures mentioned. We do not shut down our light's. But our strobes are engaged only when the the vehicle is in motion. So only our overheads are on along with 4 ways and two revolvers in the rear. No chevrons on apparatus, as of yet. We have been discussing it. Also we do use reflective vest's and ALL carry lights at night. But then again we do only have one highway through the area and it is not a split lane or the like.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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personal opinion is that California is the most litigious state in the union, which forces folks to comply with more laws... we also have a lot more people per square foot... and they don't know how to drive in this country... : ) bz
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