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Accidents and Heavy Wreckers
Emergency personnel work the scene where a FedEx truck crashed on I-5 near downtown Seattle, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. The Washington State Patrol says a semi with two trailers jackknifed on wet pavement about 4:30 a.m. One trailer crushed the cab against a guard rail while the other trailer tipped. The driver was shaken but unhurt. The truck caught fire and was extinguished by firefighters using foam. Crews worked to clear the wreckage, but the Transportation Department said it could be late morning before all lanes reopened. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Steve Ringman)
Has your department done any training with heavy duty wreckers?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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We do a fair amount of extrication training and refreshers on tools rarely used such as air bags and struts. We've never trained with a wrecker. I have to bite my lip now because many of the wrecker operators we work with are unfriendly. Think maybe they're mad at us because we don't train with them???
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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I have worked a towing job briefly and been with the fire service much longer. I have encountered more cases where a tow truck was needed for scene mitigation, than what could really be thought of for training scenarios. The vast majority of cases, the reality is both professions are seperate and can do their jobs fine and doesn't really need much interaction.
I know of calls for vehicles in the water, vehicles crashed into homes, vehicles on the ice, etc where both the FD and wrecker worked together to stabilize the scene. In many of these cases, it is difficult to either recreate the scene for training, or difficult to image scenarios and come up with "what ifs" to be seeing some very effective training.
IMO, if there is some training with a wrecker service, I would say stick to the basics. Let a wrecker operator show some basics as where and how to attach cables if the operator themselves can't do so because of scene safety, and just go over some basics of what types of trucks there are and their capabilities. Most towing company call takers/dispatchers are very good at determing what type of equipment to send. Overall, most of these guys know their job and can do it well, sometimes the best training is keeping our members away from impeding them.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Klaene on
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We work a lot with them and generally quite closely on scene. Helping them spot, access the vehicle if off road, clearing paths for them, traffic control , lighting and even clean up (fluid spills and debris). However we have never trained with them. We have never used them during the emergency part of an incident although I could see a time when they would be helpful. Their response time is quite slow so hopefully the emergency is over by the time they show up. Also many of the operators I have seen I would not trust in the patient removal phase.
Our problem is that 9 out of 10 times they send a flatbed and an operator who doesn't know how to efficiently right an overturned vehicle or pull one up out of a ditch with a flatbed. Flatbeds are great for a vehicle on all 4s with lots of pavement around it but I prefer a boom truck any day for an overturned or off roadway vehicle. We have mostly 2 lanes road and the flatbeds seem to always need road closure versus a lane closure. We don't seem to have a way to ensure what type it is when dispatch request it. The industry needs to develop better classification for tow trucks from what I can tell.
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We have never used them during the emergency part of an incident although I could see a time when they would be helpful
It depends on the situation, but there are many times where a wrecker service would really help in scene mitigation, especially in regards to stabilizing a vehicle. I know of a couple incidents where the wrecker was an intergral part of the emergency mitigation, and one was after a car crashed into a house and was about to end up in the basement. It was the wrecker that enabled crews to get the people out. Although it did help the 911 caller was an off-duty FF and requested a wrecker right away, because response time can be slow, depending on time of day.
Our problem is that 9 out of 10 times they send a flatbed and an operator who doesn't know how to efficiently right an overturned vehicle or pull one up out of a ditch with a flatbed.
Not sure what you are seeing where you are, but I worked a towing job and pulled many vehicles out of ditches with a flatbed and even overturned vehicles with a flatbed. Many times a bed can be just as, if not more versatile than a wrecker.
We don't seem to have a way to ensure what type it is when dispatch request it. The industry needs to develop better classification for tow trucks from what I can tell
The industry already has the classification in place, perhaps it is the FD that needs to learn this? A flatbed is just that, a flatbed or "bed". A wrecker is what you are thinking as a "boom truck". The difference there is if you need the big rig wrecker or if the vehicle is not a tractor trailer, a regular wrecker would work.
I hate to say it, but saying the "industry" needs to develop better classification is bunk. That just goes to show a reason to train with such a company, to learn what their capabilities are, what they call the rigs and so forth. It really is not up to the "industry" in this case to make it easier for us.....instead it is up to us to learn their capabilities and terminology if we are to request the right things.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Bartlett on
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First I come from both sides of the world. 15 years in Fire Rescue and nearly 20 in Towing & Recovery. In both sides I am very active in Heavy Rescue, USAR, and Extrication Trainings and calls. There are several times when the right wrecker being at the scene can be used in a multitude of ways from Stabilization, a work platform, victim removal from a hazard prior to extrication just to name a few. However in most places the people requesting a wrecker is the Police, and they simply call dispatch and request a Tow Truck and how many vehicles are to be towed. Thats it!!! I had a wonderful working relationship where I used to live in Chicago Suburbs and the FD would call us if they needed something like our rotators, airbags, or other specailized equipment. We may not end up with the Police side of the Tow and we DID NOT charge the FD. But these Departments Trained with us at least 1-2 times per year. Towing Equipment, and Training/Certification has drasticly changed in the past few years and FD are doing them a huge dis-service by not utilizing this tool. There are Companies that teach cross training and how to build a Cross Trained Team. (Big Truck Rescue) Now I am not saying every Towing Company is up to this challange or have this ability. But if FD's don't ask or don't know what is available in their area then they don't know if their Towing Companies are helpfull or not. As far as classifications of wreckers there is a Standardized chart of equipment through The Towing and Recovery Association of America (TRAA) And can be kept in an IC vehicle, and Dispatch. Wreckers can cut down Tunnelling jobs, the need for complex stabilization trying to get a victim from under a heavy object or truck. Also who else would you want on your side in a complex Rescue or Recovery situation Wrecker Operators know Vehicles, and Anatomy of Vehicles. I'm not saying hand them the Cutter and Spreader but they may know things and probably do of where airbags and devices are in newer vehicles both large and small. I have personally been involved in atleast 5 Rescue/Recovery Operations that our Equipment cut time down well below the Golden Hour, or made a very complex extrication that would have taken 6-8 hours and utilized close to 100 Firefighters. We shaved it down to 1 hour 45 minutes and the patient was boarded, collared, and in a Helo.
Feel free to email me any questions, or for info on the Latest Towing equipment and I will point you in the right direction.
mbartlett@arlingtonwrecker.com
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Permalink Reply by capcityff on
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We actually own several wreckers and so does the DC Metropolitan Police Dept.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Conrad on
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I am not too keen on the towing reality shows, but I would watch a fire dept. towing show!
We don't do much training with heavy wreckers or light wreckers, some but not much. We generally clear the scene when ems clears and leave the towing to the wreckers and have law enforcement control traffic at that point.
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