One of the most dangerous aspects of a firefighter’s job is working in or near traffic. You don’t have to wait very long for news of a highway incident involving a first responder or look very hard to find statistics that confirm that roadway incidents injure or kill more first responders every year. Regardless of whether you’re in a large metropolitan area or a small rural community, your fire, police, and medical first responders will be potentially placing themselves in harm’s way when operating in or around traffic. If there’s a roadway in your jurisdiction, there’s a traffic hazard. No department is exempt from working in or near traffic. We must revisit the potential hazards regularly and work hard at combating complacency to avoid injuries and death (photo 1)
 (1) Photos by author. |
How do we do our job, protect ourselves, and make our operations in or near traffic safer? Recall the last few responses that required you to work in or near traffic:
- What were the hazards?
- Were all hazards recognized during the initial size-up?
- Did the hazards change as the incident progressed?
- How was your apparatus placed?
- Did you position apparatus to create a safe work zone, and was it adequate?
- Did you have sufficient resources to safely mitigate the incident?
- Did you clear the scene as quickly possible?
- What could you have done to make it safer?
- What can you do as an individual, as a company, and as a department to make your job safer when dealing with traffic-related incidents?
As with everything else we do, success starts with preparation. Developing well-thought-out practices for operating at roadway incidents is a critical step in protecting firefighters working in traffic. The battalion chief should not need to remind firefighters to watch out on roadway incidents.
Each of us needs to watch out for each other’s safety. Drivers, remind the crew as they prepare to dismount to exit the apparatus away from the path of traffic when possible. Company officers, remind your crews daily that their primary goal while working in or near traffic should be to get in and get out as quickly as possible, without jeopardizing their safety or that of other emergency personnel. Remind everyone that individually, they must all remain aware of their surroundings at all times.
Size-up, apparatus placement, and the use of protective equipment are three important considerations when working in or near traffic. In addition, develop policies to address apparatus assignments; “blocking” procedures; and agreements with other departments, surrounding jurisdictions, private contractors, state, and even federal resources.
SIZE-UP
Roadway incident size-up must involve assessing the extent of road/shoulder involvement, the number/condition of vehicles and possible victims, traffic/road conditions, resource needs, and estimated time for clearance. The earlier each of these is addressed, the quicker you can get your people off the roads and restore normal traffic flow. The first-due officer is responsible to set up the initial block, size up the traffic hazards, establish a temporary work zone, and implement an incident action plan focusing on scene safety and quick clearance (photos 2, 3).
 (2) |
 (3) Sizing up traffic hazards must start with looking at the big picture and then looking for clues that may indicate hazards. What clues can you find in these pictures? |
APPARATUS PLACEMENT
After assessing the situation, consider apparatus placement. Always position the first-arriving apparatus to protect the scene, patients, and responders. A common practice is to use initial apparatus and then additional, larger apparatus to block traffic and establish a work zone for personnel and ambulances loading patients. A good rule of thumb is to block the obstructed lanes, plus one. To do this, apparatus operators and officers must work together to define the work zone and to ensure that the lanes and gaps that firefighters are working in are protected. Additionally, you must consider the location of needed tools and hoselines. Finally, the work zone must accommodate ambulance loading to ensure that the back of the ambulance is adequately protected for patient loading (photo 4).
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
The third important operating practice is personnel movement and use of protective equipment. Firefighters need to be constantly reminded to use caution and common sense while operating in traffic. All firefighters working on the scene must maintain a high degree of situational awareness and must continually fight complacency while working in or near traffic. Officers need to remind firefighters to exit the apparatus safely and, above all else, to keep an eye out for any potential hazards. In some cases, additional officers may be needed to provide sufficient supervision of tasks, safety, and scene management.
VISIBILITY
Finally, all firefighters working in or near traffic must wear protective clothing that is highly visible to motorist. Use scene lighting to assist and protect emergency responders without distracting or otherwise creating a hazard to motorists. Use cones to merge traffic, and close off any gaps upstream from the blocking apparatus (photos 5, 6).
 (5) |
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 (6) Use protective clothing, emergency lighting, vehicle marking, cones, and signs to alert motorists, and illuminate the incident scene. |
Planning, training, and developing safe operating practices and continually reminding firefighters of the hazards present while working in or near traffic are critical in reducing the number of roadway-related first responder injuries or deaths. It is absolutely necessary that every person maintain an awareness of their surroundings and scan frequently for hazards. Company officers must quickly assume the role of safety officer and resist the temptation to get involved at the task level so that they can maintain the role of a safety supervisor. In any event, someone needs to maintain an overall awareness of the scene and stay abreast of changing traffic patterns or work being conducted outside of the work zone. Finally, strive to do everything you can to quickly and safely clear the incident (photo 7).
 (7) Maintain situational awareness and remind personnel to clear up the scene as soon as safely possible. |
SCOTT THOMPSON, a 15-year veteran of the fire service, is a division chief with the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department. He is a master firefighter and master fire instructor with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and a hands-on instructor and classroom presenter at FDIC. Thompson teaches at Collin County Community College in McKinney and at the Texas A&M University Municipal Fire School. He has a bachelor’s degree in emergency administration and planning and is a certified public manager.
