PREINCIDENT SURVEYING FOR HIGHWAY HAZARDS

PREINCIDENT SURVEYING FOR HIGHWAY HAZARDS

BY ERIC G. BACHMAN

Preincident surveys are vital for success in doing our job. An effective preincident survey program allows a company officer or incident commander (IC) to make educated decisions at an incident. It allows an organization to prepare (train) for a known potential and recognize response limitations so that it can develop a resource list. It may not always be cost-effective to maintain a certain resource, but it is imperative that the IC know what is needed, where to obtain it, and how to get it in an emergency.

One often-overlooked aspect of preincident surveying is transportation preincident surveying. It is an issue that has significance for every fire department regardless of the department`s size or location. Transportation incidents pose a significant threat to responding firefighters, the public, and the environment. Usually, responders do not have adequate information when responding to an incident involving a mode of transportation. When responding to a fixed facility, a company officer or the officer in charge may review the preincident survey of that particular occupancy and have a general knowledge of its inherent and potential hazards. In transportation incidents, however, we may not even know what is involved, the exact location of the incident, the best access route, the location of the water supply, or what the exposures are. If a transportation preincident survey is not available, the responding fire department may be ill-prepared to mitigate the incident.

No preincident survey–no matter how sophisticated–will contain all the information the IC will need. There will always be an “unknown.” Every incident is different and will need its own solution. But, the preincident survey contains general site-specific information that will assist the IC in directing an effective operation.

LIMITED-ACCESS HIGHWAYS (LAH)

Site-specific information on a preincident survey is especially valuable for incidents occurring on limited-access highways (LAHs). These roads present several potential hazards, which are present even in a nonemergency situation. Now is the time to identify and prepare for these hazards–not after an incident has occurred. Four constant hazards of many LAHs are the following:

Access. Obviously, this problem derives from the fact that the highway has limited access. This type of road may delay response, especially if secondary accesses have not been identified.

Water supply. At a minimum, primary and secondary water supplies must be identified. A highway incident requiring a water supply may necessitate the laying of large amounts of large-diameter hose (LDH) or employing a portable water-tanker operation. Some LAHs provide a dedicated water supply to the transportation route, but usually providing one is not feasible. Its cost is too high when considering the number of times it is needed.

Sound abatement barriers also must be preplanned, since they may pose a serious obstruction to water supply access. (For one solution to the sound barrier problem, see “Through the Sound Barrier,” Joseph O. Ockershausen, Fire Engineering, October 1989).

Exposures. Exposures are always present, whether the LAH spans through a large metropolitan area or rolling country hills. Exposures of all types must be identified and considered when developing the preincident survey.

Transient people. A large percentage of the motorists on a highway are transient and not familiar with the roadway and its disposition. Such individuals reporting an incident may not be able to supply accurate information with regard to location or direction, which may hamper response time. Often, motorists give some sort of landmark. Emergency service personnel should be familiar with the area so they can identify landmarks that may not always be accurately described by those calling in the incident.

We are working with the municipalities involved to establish names and other identifying features for the road systems. A ramp- and lane-numbering system now in use for interdepartmental communication is described below.

These hazards can lead to disaster for an unprepared fire department.

PREPARING A SURVEY

Many aspects of an LAH that can be determined prior to an incident can enhance operations at an emergency. These factors include the topography of the area, the locations of storm drains, and whether alternate response routes are present. Topography is an important consideration, especially at incidents involving a hazardous material. This information will help you determine how the material will flow, whether there will be runoff, and where the material may collect. Knowing the locations of storm drains will help prevent further exposure to a hazardous material and facilitate the developing of a plan should a material collect in or flow through a storm sewer system. Other natural and manmade conduits must also be identified. Alternate response routes can provide another means of access to the scene and help determine how additional equipment can be accessed.

Preincident surveying an LAH enables a fire department to establish certain response guidelines including standardized preincident survey maps and symbols for standardized communications, which enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Instructions to incoming units can be confusing, especially at an interchange or in an area of multiple interchanges. It is important, therefore, to develop a standard for communicating directions and accesses.

RESOLVING THE MULTIPLE-RAMP DILEMMA

Our department responds to one area that has eight interchanges within a three-mile area. At some points, the on and off ramps cross over the on and off ramps of other interchanges. Responding to incidents became confusing at times. Apparatus were instructed to get off at a certain ramp and get onto a nearby ramp to access another ramp.

We resolved this problem by assigning a number to each ramp (see illustration on page 111). This system has enabled the agencies to respond in a more efficient manner. As an example, before we instituted the number system, units were instructed to “respond Route 30 westbound and get off at the Route 272 northbound ramp, turn around and get on the Route 272 southbound ramp to the Route 30 eastbound ramp.” Not only did such instructions consume enormous air time, but they were difficult to remember. Compare the difference when a standardized numbering system is used: “Respond off Ramp 01 onto Ramp 04.”

This stretch of highway is undergoing an $84 million reconstruction project, which includes increasing the present four-lane LAH to six primary lanes. Additionally, “collector/distributor” roads will be constructed, resulting in as many as 12 lanes of traffic. This project is so immense that the current 40-foot-wide overpass bridge will be 400 feet wide after the completion of construction.

The project began in Fall 1996. Emergency officials met with construction officials nearly two years before the groundbreaking to prepare for the project. The local emergency services are working on an incident management plan that will incorporate the current ramp-numbering system with a newly implemented lane-numbering system.

Each eastbound and westbound lane will be assigned a number so that responding units can be given concise instructions for accessing via ramps and lanes using simple numbers. Most importantly, the system is simple and easy to remember. Each westbound lane is designated by a “W” and a number. The numbers commence with the innermost lane and move outward consecutively. Eastbound lanes are designated with an “E” and a number, also beginning with the innermost lane (the innermost land in both directions is Lane 1). We use an easy jingle to remember the system: “The numbered route is inside out.”

The numbering systems are incorporated into the preincident survey. At each interchange, there are four ramps. Looking north and moving clockwise, each ramp is consecutively numbered with the first letter of the secondary roadway in which the interchange meets. For example, the northeast ramp will always be Ramp 1. At the Oregon Pike interchange, the ramp is now called “01.” The southeast ramp will always be Ramp 2; the southwest ramp, Ramp 3; and the northwest ramp, Ramp 4.

This system may not work for all departments and all LAHs. The benefit of a preincident survey, however, is that you can develop a customized system that will work for you and mutual responding agencies.

Even if your response area has no LAHs, it is important that you survey your transportation system, regardless of its size. We all protect some type of transportation system, and all of them have the potential for an incident. n

Water supply is an important component of a highway preplan. Primary and secondary water supplies must be identified. Not all limited-access highways have a dedicated water supply. Large amounts of large-diameter hose (LDH) or portable water tankers may be needed. This highway has hydrants. (Photos by author.)

(Left) Local topography should be preplanned for runoff potential, with attendant concerns. (Right) Looking south, what is now a dirt mound was the location of the previous on-ramp from Route 272 to Route 30 East. Before this, preplanning indicated a runoff problem down the bank to the building immediately behind the mound. The new road is the East Bound Collector/Distributor road (EBCD).

(Left) The south side of Route 501 (Lititz Pike). Route 30 bridge is to the left. The Giant Supermarket is part of the Lancaster Shopping Center. Preplanning becomes even more significant when multiple exposures are involved. (Right) This storm drain is in the parking lot of the Eden Resort Inn & Conference Center, on the north side of Route 30. Knowing the locations of storm drains is especially crucial when developing a plan to protect life and the environment should a hazardous material collect in or flow through a storm sewer system. The exposure Eden Resort Inn Club Suites is at left. The staked dirt road will be the West Bound Collector/Distributor road (WBCD). The tractor trailer at the road sign (top right) is traveling west.

Looking west, you can see the crossing of the current on and off ramps. At the “X,” traffic from Route 30 exits to Route 501 (Lititz Pike) north. At the bottom is the Route 272 (Oregon Pike) south to Route 30 west on ramp. These ramps will be eliminated.

(Left, right) Before and after. A huge highway expansion project can cause significant problems for fire department response.

ERIC G. BACHMAN, a 15-year veteran of the emergency services, is former fire chief of the Eden Volunteer Fire/Rescue Department in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He is the hazardous materials administrator of the County of Lancaster Emergency Management Agency. He has an associate`s degree in fire science and certifications in hazardous materials response and incident management and has completed the requirements for professional certification in emergency management through the state of Pennsylvania. He is the public information officer for the Local Emergency Planning Committee of Lancaster County and serves on the Route 30 Advisory Committee, comprised of state transportation officials as well as state and local government officials.