Emergency
Accident Scene or Work Zone? You Decide!
I would like to say
thanks to all of the emergency responders who respond to incidents at any time
of the day or night. I know that the majority of those incidents are many times
traffic accidents or MVAs. (Motor Vehicle Accidents). As a former volunteer fire
chief, I can assure you that you never know what you will encounter when you
arrive on an incident scene. Many vehicle accidents occur during the morning
and evening commutes when traffic is at the highest volume. Then there are the
accidents that occur in the middle of the night, and many times involve
impaired or fatigued drivers. No matter what the circumstances, the safety of
the emergency responders becomes a priority as soon as they hit the road to
respond to the incident.
Incident commanders, fire
chiefs and management personnel should be pre-planning how they will perform
their number one priority: protecting their personnel. Ok, I know what you are
thinking, the fire department’s job is to get to the accident scene and take
care of the injured, get out the “Jaws of Life” and cut the vehicles apart, or
put fire out. I beg to differ. In my training in the emergency services field,
I learned several things that you as a first responder should consider. First
you did not cause the situation to which you are responding. It is not your
fault, you have been dispatched to provide assistance. Second you can-not
change the circumstances which have already occurred, but what you can do is
try and mitigate the situation and protect your personnel so that no one else
becomes injured or harmed.
One of the MVA
situation which I considered to be the most dangerous were major thoroughfares
consisting of two lane, two way roadways. Many times these roadways have
multiple built in hazards that can’t be changed. Some of these items are cross
streets, hidden intersections or driveways, blind spots created from
vegetation, hills and knolls of the natural landscape and winding curves in the
roadway. In rural environments there are also added hazards from the lack of
street lighting at night. Many rural roadways also have limited traffic control
devices that assist in reducing the speed of vehicle traffic, such as
intersections with traffic signals. Drivers which travel the road on a regular
basis do not expect or anticipate unexpected situations such as vehicle
accidents or the presence of emergency personnel and vehicles.
That brings us back to
the question, “How can I, as an emergency responder warn the traveling public
of a dangerous or unexpected situation?”, which they are about to encounter.
More importantly the questions should be, “How can I warn the public that I am
placing my personnel in harm’s way” and they need to be aware of the impending
situation.
There are some very
quick, easy and basic things you can require of your team. The easiest thing
you can do is place "Emergency Scene” or “Emergency Incident” signs ahead
of the incident. Yes what I am about to tell you is going to disturb some of
you, and will likely make you want to tell me that I am crazy or that maybe
even an idiot. My policy, when I was Chief and responsible for the safety of my
team was as follows. We equipped our trucks with “Emergency Scene” signs. Yes,
compact, fold up, emergency scene signs that fit into a standard fire truck
compartment. Our policy was that the first in truck stopped at the last
intersection prior to the incident scene or at an intersection prior to the
scene. The officer in charge determined
and provided enough advanced warning to the approaching drivers of the
incident. Yes, you heard me, the first in truck stopped and did this. I know
what some of you are thinking, we have to get to the scene and handle the
emergency. We do not have time to waste setting up an emergency scene sign! I
am here to tell you that you do not have the time NOT to stop and perform this
operation. In my department we trained on this procedure, just like you train
to put on an SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus), and you know what, our
staff was able to deploy the signs in 25 to 40 seconds. I know some of you are
still saying but that is still time wasted. Really! My response to you is this,
which is the same thing I told the doubters on our team when we implemented the
procedure. If you don’t have the time to drop the sign, how will you ever have enough
time to drive to your team member’s home and tell their loved ones that your
team member has been seriously injured or killed? How will you have time to send
that person to rehabilitation therapy, or plan a funeral?! Now I am not a
betting man, but I will take the bet that 30 seconds of your time is easier,
and worth more, then having go through losing anyone of your staff, for even a
short period of time, let alone forever.
The next step is as
soon as possible after arriving at the scene would be to send one staff member
in the opposite direction from how we approached the scene. Their task was to
setup an emergency scene sign for traffic approaching the scene from the
opposite direction. We wanted this sign to be at least 250 to 500 feet in
advance of the emergency scene. This is depending on prevailing vehicle travel
speeds, the terrain of the incident location, weather conditions and the
incident itself. Remember your number one priority should be to warn the public
that you are causing disruption to their travel path and they need to be alert
for emergency personnel. Next we placed cones to delineate the incident zone,
and in Pennsylvania, we had fire police flag traffic around the incident scene.
To expand on this, it
would be great if every EMS (Emergency Medical Services) rig and every police
vehicle carried the emergency scene signs so that anyone coming from any
direction could stop and place the signs to warn motorists of the impending
situation.
Now there are many
other things that have been incorporated into helping protect the emergency
responders. Personal visibility, yes we had everyone on the scene wearing type
3 reflective vests over their turnout gear. You need to make sure that they are
visible to the traveling public. This is
not rocket science. These are basic
safety procedures adopted from construction work zones.
Incident Commanders,
Emergency Responders and Legislators all need to consider the risk that
emergency personnel are placed in each time they respond to a roadway incident.
I have discussed the basic safety procedures which I believe should be minimum
requirements when arriving at an emergency scene of an MVA. Now I want to
discuss some of the things that place our personnel in jeopardy longer than
required.
First, let’s say that
you arrive at the scene and establish your signage, cones and begin flagging.
The Police, Fire, EMS and let me include Legislators, yes Legislators need to come
together and determine how we remove the incidents as quickly as possible from
the travel lanes of the roadway. I know, with all the litigation, and
determining who is at fault for this or that we need to investigate the
incident. I understand that, but this is not 1980 anymore. This is 2014 and we
operate in a technical world. Remember every minute that any of these first
responders remain on that roadway the chance increases drastically for a
secondary incident, and the potential for injury to first responders, the
public sitting in congestion, or perhaps they have exited their cars to try and
see what is happening up ahead, and let’s just say anyone in the vicinity of
the incident.
Let me start with the Fire
service. Look incident commanders, get on the scene and determine what you
need. Do you really need four pieces of fire apparatus parked on the roadway?
Do you need to create an incident zone 4 blocks long, or can you release all
but one of those pieces of equipment from the scene. Less people and less equipment
reduce your risk for injury. Hey, and I understand that many places in
Pennsylvania have first responders arriving in personal vehicles, but as soon
as you don’t need them on the scene get them off the roadway and send them back
to the station. Remember it is all about
not risking their lives.
Then there is EMS. Most of the time they are in and out with
patients or sign offs, but when they are done send them on their way, get them
off the road. They don’t need to sit there and have a networking session with
the Fire service.
Now the Police. Like I
stated this is 2014. I understand the need for photos, reports and findings of
who is at fault. But with all the technology out there is there not a way that
we can photograph, film or somehow document the incident scene so that we can
get the roadway cleared. I think it is time for the Legislators of the states
to provide the police with the appropriate equipment to quickly remove the
incident from the roadway and allow the use of technology for documenting
purposes to help reduce the risk to these first responders. Do you know there
are still places that the police need to respond to the accident scene before a
tow vehicle can be dispatched? This is absurd! Dispatch a tow truck as soon as
the first incident commander confirms the need for one. Also do we really need
to have the vehicles on the road for the officer to begin their report or gather
the insurance information? I doubt it.
I believe the goal of
all parties, Fire, Police, EMS and Legislators, should be to have the majority
of incidents cleared within 30 to 45 minutes of arrival. If we can begin the
discussion on how to reach this time frame on 80 percent of the incidents, do
you realize how much risk would be reduced for the emergency responders and the
traveling public?
The roadway is not the
place for us to have a party, convention or social gathering. This is a
dangerous place for anyone to be, so let’s get with the times. Everything is
faster paced in today’s world, so why not quit rolling the dice with our
personnel. Sooner or later the dice roll comes up losing. Get there, get done,
go home, and live to respond another day!
Dave E. Gemmill
D. E. Gemmill, Inc.
866-755-9794
www.degemmill.com
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