Vehicle Rescue Safety – Part II
Vehicle Rescue Safety - Part II
by RON MOORE
(Members Zone Contributor Firehouse.Com Contributor)
Emergency service personnel working in or near moving traffic are killed every year. For
example, five responders died in 2000 in highway-related incidents. Almost 8% of the
line-of-duty deaths in 2002 were 'struck-by' situations while the responders were working
in or near moving traffic.
These deaths have a common bond: in each case, effective traffic control was not
accomplished. Traffic accidents cause traffic problems. Traffic problems cause traffic
accidents. Working in or near moving
traffic is a high risk activity.
When a fire department arrives at a
highway crash scene, a temporary work
zone must be established. If traffic
disruption continues for more than 20
minutes,
considerations
of
the
'temporary" situation must turn into an
extended operation.
Any highway incident lasting more than
60 minutes is looked by traffic
management authorities as a highway
work zone. There is a federal standard for
exactly how a work zone must be
organized, including warning signs,
traffic direction, flaggers, etc.
Prompt traffic control reduces traffic
problems at the scene of an emergency
and prevents secondary collisions.
Although crowd and traffic control are
considered a basic police agency
function, lack of control of traffic
seriously affects the safety of all
concerned.
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
Traffic control must be an integral part of our hazard control activities and is necessary
even when personnel are limited in number. Personnel on the emergency scene must
learn to use their vehicles as initial traffic control devices.
The ResponderSafety.com website reports that of the five emergency responders struck
and killed by moving traffic at emergency scenes in 2000, several were actually on or
near the highway fighting fires. Others were directing traffic. An EMS responder was
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Vehicle Rescue Safety – Part II
walking along the roadway with her back to approaching traffic when she was struck and
killed.
Assistant Fire Chief Jim Yvorra of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, the fire officer to whom
the first edition of this author's vehicle rescue book was dedicated, was one of 139
firefighters to die in the line of duty in 1988. He too was a statistic of the hazards of
working in or near moving traffic.
While at the scene of a minor vehicle
incident on the Washington Beltway, Jim
was struck and killed by a passing
motorist. His own fire department
members responded to his aid but were
unable to save his life. From 1979 to
1988, firefighters struck at or near
emergency scenes were most often
operating at traffic accidents or vehicle
fires. Most fatalities occurred after dark
or under conditions of poor visibility.
The most critical initial action that can be
taken to minimize these unfortunate
occurrences is the proper positioning of our emergency vehicles in a 'block' position. A
block position places the large emergency vehicle at an angle to the approaching traffic,
diagonally across several lanes of traffic.
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
This position begins to shield the work area and protects the crash scene from some of the
approaching traffic. Under normal circumstances, the initial emergency vehicle to arrive
at the crash scene should 'block' on the 'upstream' or approaching traffic side of the
damaged vehicles.
A 'right block' or 'left block' means that as the responding vehicle arrives on scene, it
turns at a right or left angle.
In this block position, the emergency
vehicle's lights warn approaching traffic
of the presence of the incident ahead.
Most importantly, the vehicle acts as a
physical barrier between the crash scene
work area and approaching traffic.
The block position is best fulfilled by a
fire department engine or ladder
company apparatus. Rescue vehicles that
crews will work off of at the scene
should be positioned close enough to the
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
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Vehicle Rescue Safety – Part II
work area to be protected by the engine or ladder truck.
The bigger the vehicle blocking, the better. You want mass between you and oncoming
traffic. You want to assume that all approaching traffic will be unable to stop, is being
operated by an inattentive driver or that the driver is medically impaired.
If you keep this mindset, you will remain alert to the dangers of moving traffic.
Firefighters and EMS personnel do not operate in the unprotected 'upstream' side of a
crash scene. All operations take place within the 'shadow', the protected downstream area
created by the block from the large apparatus.
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
When the ambulance arrives at the scene,
it must park in a safe 'downstream'
position, a position on the departure side
of the traffic flow. This requires the
ambulance driver to pull past the initial
blocking apparatus and around the
crashed vehicles. The ambulance must
stop at an angle that places the rear
patient loading area as far away as
possible from any moving traffic.
An upstream block enables the first-arriving officer to survey the scene from inside their
vehicle. If the response is at night, the crew can use the headlights and vehicle-mounted
spotlights for initial scene illumination. Additional units should either block further
upstream from the crash or pull downstream into a safe and protected area. Additional
emergency vehicles positioning at the scene will find locations on the downstream side of
the scene the safest and most beneficial.
Expressway responses present unique
challenges for initial traffic blocking. On
any vehicle crash or fire call reported on
any of the high-volume, limited-access
expressways that run through the city of
Plano, Texas for example, an additional
fire department vehicle is dispatched on
the initial call. Along with an engine
company and ambulance, one of the
department's tandem-axle ladder trucks
also responds. For this crew, their
primary function is to create an upstream
block for the engine company and
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
ambulance crew working the incident.
This crew can also act as the "eyes in the back of the head" for those at the scene.
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Vehicle Rescue Safety – Part II
While other working personnel are intently concentrating on the action at the scene, the
ladder truck serves as advance warning to approaching motorists of the situation ahead.
This crew can also deploy traffic cones upstream of their apparatus to begin to 'taper'
approaching traffic into one or more of the moving lanes of traffic. Should a problem
motorist appear, one apparently oblivious to traffic control efforts, the ladder company
can use their radio and air horn to warn fellow workers. Having someone dedicated to
covering your rear can be a lifesaver!
Establishing the Hot Zone
The area of highest risk at a crash scene
is where the crashed vehicles and the
patients are located. This primary danger
zone is commonly referred to as the 'hot
zone', a familiar term used by hazardous
materials teams. When no fuel, fire or
spill hazards are present at a crash scene,
the hot zone extends approximately 50
feet in all directions from the wreckage.
The emergency vehicle initiating the first
upstream block maintains this 50 foot hot
zone spacing if possible. If one or more
vehicles involved in the crash are
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
burning, the hot zone distance increases
to approximately 100 feet. The hot zone should be expanded whenever there are doubts
about the safety and stability of a scene.
If the crashed vehicle is leaking gasoline, the fumes typically travel downhill and
downwind to low-lying areas such as sewer drains, along curbs, ditches, and gullies.
Because they must be evacuated and have all sources of potential ignition near them
isolated, these low-lying areas become extended hot zones. Low areas should be avoided
when positioning emergency vehicles or patients. Safe parking at a crash scene involving
a utility company power pole requires vehicles and crews to avoid any area under
overhanging transmission lines and near power transformers, which could short out. The
hot zone should extend one intact pole beyond both affected poles when wires are down
at a crash. Command personnel must quickly ascertain the stability of overhead wires, the
damaged pole, adjacent power poles, and adjoining spans of transmission wires.
In all situations, if in doubt as to how much space to put between the damaged vehicles
and the nearest emergency vehicle, a rule of excess should prevail. If in doubt, stay back
for safety's sake. It is far easier and safer to move a vehicle forward than it is to be forced
to rapidly back it up or abandon it entirely should an unanticipated, life-threatening
situation develop.
Traffic should be kept moving by being detoured or re-routed if possible. Immediate
traffic detours that move approaching traffic around and away from the crash scene are
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Vehicle Rescue Safety – Part II
recommended. If traffic is detoured and kept far enough away from the crash area,
motorists are less likely to slow or stop, causing traffic congestion at the scene. What is to
be avoided is the complete stopping of traffic, especially for any extended period. If
traffic is stopped completely on a typical high-volume interstate highway and
expressway, the traffic jam can extend one mile for each minute that traffic is not
moving. After five minutes of total shutdown, the possibility of getting additional
emergency service units into or out of the immediate crash scene area becomes extremely
difficult and time consuming. A detour around the area minimizes traffic congestion and
maximizes scene protection.
Advance Warning Safety
Considerations
Making approaching traffic aware of a
crash or fire scene ahead can be done by
various
means.
Initially,
vehicle
emergency warning lights provide
notification of the hazard ahead.
Operators of emergency vehicles must
realize that during night incidents,
particularly on two-lane highways, the
headlights of their emergency vehicle
may totally blind approaching vehicles as
they look toward the crash scene. The
headlights of any emergency vehicle on
the scene that may impair the vision of
approaching drivers should be turned off.
The driver should use their parking lights
only to minimize this problem.
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
Red-burning highway road flares, a
generally accepted means of warning of a traffic impediment, are also inherently
dangerous at a crash scene. The burning phosphorus flare can ignite combustible
materials or flammable vapors within its flammable range. The residue that spits from a
burning flare can cause significant injury to unprotected hands or eyes. Personnel using
flares for traffic control should be sure that the flare itself is the only thing present that is
going to get burned.
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Vehicle Rescue Safety – Part II
If safe to do so, individual flares can be
placed on the approach side of the
emergency scene and continued towards
approaching traffic at 15-foot intervals.
To enhance the visibility of this advance
warning during the day or at night,
burning flares can be placed close to
orange traffic cones. The glow from the
burning flare reflects off the cone and
illuminates it. As a general rule, the total
length of this line of cones and flares
should extend from the scene towards
approaching traffic a distance equal to
twice the posted speed limit in paces.
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
Each pace taken by a responder is
estimated at 3 feet in length. For example, where the posted speed is 35 miles per hour,
flares and cones are placed every 15 feet for a distance of 70 paces from the crash scene.
This is approximately 210 feet.
On a highway where traffic may be expected to be traveling up to 65 mph, the line of
flares should extend for at least 300 feet, the length of a football field from goal line to
goal line. If the damaged vehicles are located in a limited sight distance situation such as
over the crest of a hill or at a curve in the roadway, emergency vehicles, flares and cones
should be placed to adequately warn approaching traffic on the other side of the hill or
curve. Bad weather can also require that the advance warning to approaching motorists be
extended. If in doubt, continue to extend the area of advance warning for approaching
traffic.
It must be remembered that flashing
lights, flares or traffic cones only warn
the fully alert and responsible motorist
approaching the scene. Traffic cones and
flares only suggest what you want the
approaching motorist to do. They will not
stop the inattentive or impaired driver
from driving right into the scene. Only
vehicles, large vehicles at that, can stop
an approaching vehicle. At no time
should flares, cones, or individuals be
blindly relied upon as the sole means of
traffic control.
Photo Courtesy Ron Moore
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