Today's fire and explosion investigators work in environments and conditions that are considerably more hazardous than those of 20 to 30 years ago. The widespread use of synthetic building materials and furnishings has greatly increased the amounts and kinds of toxic byproducts of combustion that may result in personal injury, illness, and death. The safety and health of investigators are often taken for granted since most investigators assume that by the time they arrive at a fire or explosion scene, the potential hazards are either eliminated or diminished to the point that they are no longer a concern. However, several studies of firefighter occupational safety and health hazards associated with overhaul operations at fire scenes conducted in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States since the early 1990's have concluded that numerous toxic byproducts of combustion are usually present well after a fire is extinguished. Several of these toxic substances are poisons or known or suspected human carcinogens, such as acrolein, acrylonitrile, benzene, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, dioxins and numerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Investigators face the risk of exposure to these toxic substances during and after overhaul unless proper personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE), including adequate respiratory protection are worn. In recent years, numerous injuries, illnesses, and deaths associated with the investigation of fires and explosions have occurred. Many investigators have been diagnosed with disabling and debilitating injuries and chronic illnesses such as various cancers, that surfaced days, months and years after investigations were concluded. Some occupational physicians believe that these conditions may result directly from fire scene exposures.
The majority of the injuries, illnesses and exposures that pose risk to investigators can be reduced or eliminated through the use of a protective ensemble that consists of turnout gear, helmet, boots, gloves, eye protection and appropriate respiratory protection equipment (respirators and self-contained breathing apparatus). All agencies and investigators must recognize that the duties and responsibilities of fire and explosion investigators routinely require them to work in potentially hazardous environments and the possibility ALWAYS exists that they may be injured or exposed unless adequate policies, procedures, PPE and health and safety training are made a regular part of the job.
By Robert Raheb
FDNY EMS Lt. (ret), Emergency Response Specialist — FAAC, Inc.
When operating at the scene of an emergency, whether it's on the roadway or in a building, placing your vehicle strategically to maximize accessibility, utilization, safety, and egress is extremely important in making an operation run smoothly.
Roadway safety
Working on the roadway, whether it’s a rural road or a multilane highway, presents a unique set of hazardous conditions that we must remain cognizant of and it usually requires multi-jurisdictional response.
When pulling up to the scene and before getting out, take an additional 10 seconds and assess your position. Are you blocking enough lanes? Are you far enough back to create a barrier? Motorists are not always paying attention to the road ahead and may not see you.
Most states have "move over" laws in place that fine the motorist who fails to adjust their speed or lane position when approaching an emergency vehicle working on the roadway, but that doesn't physically protect you.
Federal Highway Administration regulations and NFPA standards require the use of high visibility vests with five-point break away features while operating on or near a roadway.
The vest must meet ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 or 207-2006 requirements and have a fluorescent background and retro-reflective material that has 360 degree visibility.
Unfortunately, there have been incidents where different agencies have different viewpoints on how to manage the scene. Highway Patrol sometimes wants to keep the road open regardless of the safety issues it may compromise.
Other times, Fire/EMS may want to stay on the scene longer than necessary instead of pulling far enough off the road.
The National Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC) sets a goal of three major objectives:
- Responder Safety: first and paramount
- Safe, Quick Clearance: get off the roadway as soon as possible, do non-urgent treatment and paperwork on the shoulder or off the highway altogether. Remember if you can steer it, clear it; 1 minute of lane closure equals 1 mile of delay.
- Prompt, Reliable, Interoperable communications: PD, FD, EMS all have the same goal, but with different objectives and tasks. Pre-planning is vital to ensuring that all personnel understand and honor what the other must do.
For more information regarding NTIMC go to their website at www.timcoalition.org.
Terminology
While looking in the direction of travel:
- Identify the direction of travel northbound NB, etc.
- Lanes are numbered from left to right in sequence
- Shoulders are designated either left or inside and right or outside shoulder
- HOV/HOT lanes that are physically separated are numbered the same as travel lanes, but given the designation HOV1, HOT2, etc.
- Line Cycles are measured from the beginning of a skip line to the beginning of the next skip line. On the highway it is a 10 foot skip with 20 feet between them and on an urban road it may be a 20 foot skip with 10 feet between them, it's still a 30 foot cycle.
- Traffic before the collision is traveling upstream and traffic after the collision is moving downstream.
When working at the scene of a collision, units must be positioned to afford the greatest protection to the personnel and patients. The first arriving unit should position themselves upstream and off center of the collision to protect the site; if this is an ambulance it must be moved downstream prior to loading patients into it.
All units should park at a 45 degree angle, facing the front wheels outward and setting the parking brake; in the event of a collision, your vehicle will absorb most of the impact and be pushed away from the scene.
Emergency lighting should be kept to a minimum; usually the first vehicle approached upstream leaves their lights on as too much lighting can become disorientating to the motorist.
Flares serve two purposes:
- Advanced warning to other motorists that an incident is ahead, which is very important on limited sight distance areas.
- Delineates temporary lane patterns.
When using flares to shut lanes of travel down, consideration needs include:
The amount of traffic traveling
- Flares should extend upstream a minimum of 300 feet from the collision zone for traffic speed of 50 mph and further for speeds greater than 50 mph.
- Less traffic means shutting more lanes of traffic to divert fast moving vehicles further away from the incident.
- Congested traffic needs fewer lanes shut down since traffic is moving slower; at a minimum, you should always have at least 1 ½ lanes between you and the traffic.
The type of incident involved
- A Medivac will most likely require shutting all lanes of traffic in either one or both directions.
- Rescuers working at collisions involving only the center lanes of the roadway should consider extending the barrier to one of the shoulders; rescuers should not be working in a crash zone with traffic moving on both sides of them.
- Hazardous materials spill and/or flammable fluid spills require larger safety zones, and other approved devices such as cones should be utilized.
Any special mitigating circumstances
- Limited sight distance such as hills and curves should have the flares start at the top of the hill or the start of the curve to give motorist advanced warning.
- Flammable fluids? Use cones or other approved devices instead of flares.
Fireground Operations
When EMS is operating on the fireground, ambulances should stage away from the operation and in one area. Setting up Staging, Treatment and Transport sections that provide a good flow of both vehicles and patients is important to the operation.
Officers should be assigned to each sector to coordinate with the Command Post.
Points to remember:
- When responding, remember that additional units may be responding from different directions and may cross the same intersections as you.
- Ambulances are not the primary vehicle of operation, stay out of the fireground away from hydrants.
- Avoid driving over hoses and only do so when using hose ramps and at the direction of fire suppression officers. Never drive over couplings.
- When setting up staging ensure, you have good access and egress from the scene.
- Gather your equipment from the ambulance and notify the Command Post of your presence.
Medical emergencies
When fire pumpers, trucks or other medical response units respond to medical emergencies, remember to park past the residence and leave the space in front for the primary transporting ambulance, so the patient has a shorter trip through the rain, heat, snow, etc.
Nobody wants to do compressions halfway down the block because no one left room for the ambulance.
If pulling into a driveway or a narrow dead-end street, back into it so that egress can be accomplished faster and safer when pulling onto the main road.
Backing into the assignment first will give you a spotter, while afterwards all other personnel may be involved in doing patient care.
In summary, ensuring good access, staging and egress will help to make the operation go well. A quick scene survey upon arrival and the proper utilization of flares and barrier vehicles along with inter-departmental communications can help keep the crew and patient safe, which is paramount.
Always follow your department policies and procedures. Be safe and drive like your life depends on it.
Intersection dangers for emergency vehicle operators
Drivers must be aware of their surroundings all the time and not be distracted
By Robert Raheb
FDNY EMS Lt. (ret), Emergency Response Specialist — FAAC, Inc.
When it comes to emergency responses, intersections can be considered the most dangerous area of roadways.
According to pertinent studies1, ambulance collisions for instance cause 10 injuries per day and two fatalities per month. In addition, 37 percent of all ambulance collisions occurred in an intersection with some type of control device and the ambulance struck the other vehicle 74 percent of the time in all fatal ambulance collisions.
Numerous factors lead to these collisions — distractions (inside and out of the vehicle), speed, environmental factors, other drivers, sun glare, limited sight distance, as well as the crew, which may be adrenaline charged and not properly trained or not familiar with the area and road conditions.
Drivers must be aware of their surroundings all the time and not be distracted, but when approaching the intersection this is even more important and in an urban setting it becomes a continuous situation.
When clearing an intersection with the green light or a pre-emptive light system that allows the emergency vehicle to travel through the intersection with a green light, EVOs still should:
- Reduce their speed
- Cover their brake
- Try and make eye contact with other drivers
- Use turn signals
When clearing an intersection against the red light, the EVO should:
- Ensure all warning lights and siren are fully engaged (using the yelp siren and short burst on an air-horn in 1-2 second intervals is encouraged)
- Come to a complete stop prior to the intersection and at every lane you cross to ensure that traffic has yielded
- Try not to push other drivers into the intersection, if possible cross the yellow line and travel "left of center"
When clearing an intersection against the red light and traveling left of center, the EVO must:
- Come to a complete stop at the rear bumper of the first vehicle in the left lane (that is to your right)
- Move forward and clear each lane one at a time and do not move until it is safe to do so
- Do not exceed 20 mph and in congested intersections travel at 2-3 mph (remember, traffic is coming from your left and you are in the oncoming lane of traffic; you have shortened the reaction and braking distance of both vehicles substantially
- Check the intersection again, even if you already have done so.
So how does one train for this?
Most driver training programs teach proper intersection analysis and management with lecture, though the knowledge that is being disseminated often is lost at the most critical time: in the intersection.
Some programs try to teach students by taking them on the road and driving around in a non-emergency mode or by watching how their partner does it after joining a volunteer or other type of service.
These types of training are not effective in producing an adequate experience that the member can use in future incidents. The most effective way of training is through simulation, which works so well because the student is actively participating in the experience and not simply watching it or hearing about it.
Think about your last vacation — it's a lot more fun experiencing it than looking at someone else's photos.
When training in intersection analysis, it is important to cover all three concepts of the "Triangle of Training:"
- Knowledge — lecture-based information
- Skill — vehicle and roadway dynamics
- Judgment — active participation in a virtual world environment
Remember to stop at the intersection. No one remembers that you were 10 seconds later arriving on scene but no one ever forgets when you don't get there at all.
Drive like your life depends on it.
