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Highway Operations

Being a rural volunteer Dept we do see many MVC's on a busy highway in our response area.
We continue to have problems slowing down approaching traffic despite what I consider a very good SOG we use for every highway scene where our people are exposed to oncoming traffic.
We run with our Rescue,Pump & Tanker to all these calls with the heavy vehicles being our 'blockers" on the scene & our Rescue unit along with what-ever ambulances arrive positioned inside the safe zone.
We also employ warning signs,cones, traffic control with HiVisibility vests (our people on two-way radios to keep our TAC channel clear), etc.
We also will shut down the entire roadway should it be needed.
My question is doing all these things & training to stage correctly, we are still seeing instances of vehicles not slowing down until the last minute & too many "near-misses" for our liking.
I would appreciate all ideas that any of the members find in their Dept's that work well.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by bob hille on November 19, 2008 at 2:35am

have you tried an early warning vehicle that is staged 1/4 to 1/2 mile before the wreck. also they have some nice dimond collasable road signs out on the market now for fire depts. just some thoughts for you. good luck and remember
EGH everyone goes home be safe

Permalink Reply by Kelly Saunders on March 7, 2009 at 5:58pm

Hi Bob, sorry for taking so long to reply, but yes we have three of the reflective signs & have been staging a vehicle as a warning some distance from the scene when available manpower allows us to roll with more apparatus.
We are constantly reviewing & upgrading our procedures when we find somehting not working but it can be a challenge when faced with another mutual aid Dept that lacks competent leadership,manpower & training. Trying to get everyone on the same page regarding safety is something you would think is a no-brainer in this day & age but unfortunately we now deal with this on a regular basis.

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