SOG 310-01: Operating Near Moving Traffic

• The purpose of SOG 310-01 is to establish guidelines when operating in or near moving vehicular traffic.
• This SOG applies to all Emergency Operations personnel.
• These guidelines provide a basic framework for most incidents.

Overview

• This procedure identifies parking practices for Fire Rescue apparatus and vehicles to provide maximum protection and safety when operating near moving traffic.
• Several approaches for individual practices keep firefighters safe while exposed to the hazardous environment created by moving traffic.
• Fire Rescue positions apparatus and other emergency vehicles at any incident on any street, road, highway or expressway in a manner that best protects the incident scene and the Safe Work Area.
• Positioning affords protection to Fire Rescue personnel, Law Enforcement, tow service operators, patients, and the public.
• Personnel should understand the high risk that personnel are exposed to when operating in or near moving vehicle traffic.
• Responders should always operate within a Safe Work Area at any vehicle-related roadway incident.
• Always consider moving vehicles as a threat to safety because personnel are exposed to passing motorists of varying driving abilities at every vehicle-related emergency scene.
• At any time, a motorist may be driving without a legal driver's license.
• Approaching vehicles may be driven at speeds from a creeping pace to well beyond the posted speed limit.
• Some vehicle operators may be vision impaired, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or have a medical condition affecting their judgment or abilities.
• Motorists may be completely oblivious to the employee's presence due to distractions like cell phone use, loud music, conversation, inclement weather, and terrain or building obstructions.
• Approaching motorists are often looking at the scene and not the roadway.
• Nighttime incidents requiring personnel to work in or near moving traffic are particularly hazardous due to reduced visibility and slower driver reaction time to hazards.
• An inter-agency agreement between Fire Rescue and the FDOT establishes a policy for personnel to expedite the removal of vehicles, cargo, and debris from State roadways urgently.
• Fire Rescue members responding to traffic incidents make clearing the travel portion of the roadway a high priority.
• Patients, apparatus, and personnel relocate the incident to a safe area when possible.

General Safety Considerations

• All emergency personnel are at great risk of injury or death while operating in or near moving traffic.
• Several tactical procedures should be taken to protect all personnel at the incident scene:
  • Never trust approaching traffic.
  • Avoid turning a back to approaching traffic.
  • Establish an initial block with the first arriving Fire Rescue unit.
  • Wear high visibility reflective vests and structural firefighting helmets.
  • Don the appropriate level of PPE that the situation dictates.
  • Turn off all sources of vision impairment to approaching motorists at nighttime incidents, including vehicle headlights and spotlights.
  • Use Fire Rescue apparatuses and Law Enforcement vehicles to redirect the flow of moving traffic.
  • Establish an adequate Transition Zone and advance warning upstream of the incident.
  • Use traffic cones and/or cones illuminated by flares where appropriate.
  • Establish a Lookout as soon as practical.
  • Maintain acute awareness of the high risk while working in or near moving traffic.

Emergency Scene Considerations

• Considerations for safe parking of apparatus and emergency vehicles when operating in or near moving traffic.
• Downstream is the direction that traffic is moving as it travels away from the incident scene.
• Upstream is the direction that traffic is traveling from as the vehicles approach the incident scene.
• When roadways have more than 3 lanes in one direction, the lanes are identified and labeled with numbers starting with the far-left lane.
• Lanes of traffic are identified numerically as “Lane 1”, “Lane 2", etc., beginning from the driver's left to the right; vehicles typically travel at a lower speed in the higher number lanes.
• Shoulders are identified using “right/left” and/or “inside/outside” and the term "shoulder.”
  • The left shoulder is the inside shoulder
  • The right shoulder is the outside shoulder
  • i.e. inside (or left) shoulder, southbound interstate 95
• Responders should indicate the relative direction of travel (e.g., northbound or southbound) with incident location detail and specific position assignments.
  • For example, an incoming unit might be told to "block upstream of the incident on Northbound (NB) Interstate 95, Lane 3 and right shoulder".
• Always position Fire Rescue apparatuses to protect Fire Rescue personnel, Law Enforcement, tow service operators, patients, and the public.
• Fire Rescue apparatus placement should slow approaching motorists and redirect them around the scene.
• Whenever possible, park Fire Rescue apparatuses and emergency vehicles on the same side of the roadway.
• Blocking is positioning a Fire Rescue apparatus on a 45° angle to the lanes of traffic, creating a physical barrier between upstream traffic and the Safe Work Area.
• The first arriving Fire Rescue apparatus provides blocking.
• Place Fire Rescue apparatuses to block at least one additional traffic lane more than that already obstructed by a crashed vehicle(s).
• Chock the wheels of the blocking Fire Rescue apparatuses when available.
• Turn the front wheels of blocking apparatus in a direction away from the incident.
• Position Fire Rescue apparatuses practically to protect the side of the apparatus that will be used from upstream traffic, including:
  • The pump panel for fire suppression operations
  • The extrication compartment for extraction use
  • The medical compartment for EMS use

Safe Work Area

• The Safe Work Area is the physical area of a roadway where emergency personnel perform Fire, EMS, Rescue, and other tasks at a vehicle-related incident which is blocked and protected from traffic hazards.
• The Safe Work Area shall be of sufficient size to include:
  • All damaged vehicles
  • Roadway debris
  • The patient triage and treatment area
  • The extrication work area
  • Personnel and tool staging area
  • The patient transport vehicles loading area
• The patient transport vehicles loading area shall be angled away from the nearest lanes of moving traffic and medical units shall be positioned within the Safe Work Area.
• Law Enforcement shall be provided with specific directions as to exactly what traffic control is needed and their vehicles should be used to provide additional blocking of additional traffic lanes.

Multi-Directional Traffic Patterns

• Multi-directional traffic patterns involve traffic moving in more than one direction near the Safe Work Area.
• Includes intersections, incidents near the middle lane of the roadway, or when multiple vehicles are on different sides of the roadways.
• All multi-directional traffic patterns shall have two or more sides of the incident blocked.
• Law Enforcement and Fire Rescue vehicles must be strategically positioned to expand the Safe Work Area for traffic approaching from opposing directions.
• Block all exposed sides of the Safe Work Area, prioritizing blocking from the most critical or highest traffic volume flow to the least critical traffic direction.

Entering and Exiting

• Personnel must exit and enter their units with extreme caution, remaining alert to moving traffic.
• Always look before opening doors and stepping out of a vehicle into any moving traffic areas.
• Arriving personnel should exit and enter the apparatus from the downstream side; safety vests, helmets, and appropriate PPE must be donned before exiting the emergency vehicle.
• Student riders arriving on an apparatus or emergency vehicles must don a safety vest prior to exiting the vehicle.
• When walking around fire apparatus or emergency vehicles, be alert to the proximity of moving traffic.
• Stop at the corner of the apparatus, check for traffic, and then proceed along the apparatus, remaining as close to the emergency vehicle as possible.

Lookout

• The Lookout is a Fire Rescue employee assigned to monitor upstream traffic on all crash incidents; they warn operating personnel of non-compliant motorists approaching via portable radio or a pre-determined audible warning signal.
• A non-compliant motorist is one that is not responding to the speed changes, transition, tapering, and merging directions.

Transition Zone and Tapering

• The Transition Zone is the lanes of a roadway within which upstream motorists change their speed and lane position to comply with traffic control measures.
• Tapering merges several lanes of moving traffic into fewer moving lanes.
• Deploy traffic cones from the rear of the blocking apparatus toward the upstream traffic to increase the advance warning.
• Cones identify and suggest the transition and tapering actions required of upstream motorists.
• Place and retrieve cones and flares while facing upstream traffic.
• Traffic cones are deployed at 15-foot intervals upstream of the blocking apparatus, with the furthest traffic cone placed about 75 feet upstream. Additional traffic cones may be retrieved from other apparatuses or Law Enforcement vehicles to extend the Transition Zone.
• Law Enforcement may place traffic cones or flares to divert traffic.
• Placing flares, where safe, adjacent to and combined with traffic cones for nighttime operations greatly enhances scene safety.
• Place warning flares safely to slow and divert approaching traffic.

Termination of an Incident

• Manage the termination of the incident with the same precautions as initial actions; Fire Rescue personnel, units, and equipment must be removed from the roadway promptly to reduce traffic exposure.
• Fire Rescue personnel shall inform Law Enforcement prior to leaving the incident to provide them the opportunity to reposition their vehicles and drivers should always look before tapering back into traffic.

Incident Command Considerations

• The Incident Commander shall:
  • Assure that a Safe Work Area is established and maintained.
  • Ensure all personnel are wearing high-visibility reflective vests.
  • Assign a parking location for all arriving apparatuses.
  • Ensure patient transport vehicles are parked, and the patients being loaded, are within the Safe Work Area.
  • Ensure emergency warning lights remain ON.
  • Ensure vehicles Stage are off the roadway.

High-Volume, Limited Access Highway Operations Considerations

• Considerations below are in addition to the above safety considerations.
• High-volume limited access highways include Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 95, where the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) want to keep traffic moving.
• Incident Commanders can shut down lanes, shoulders, and entry/exit ramps of these highways for safety, but this should be rare and for as short a period as practical.
• Traffic cones on high-volume limited-access highways shall be placed farther apart, with the last cone approximately 150 feet upstream to allow adequate warning to drivers.
• Staging of additional units off the high-volume limited access highway may be required and patient transport vehicles may be brought onto the scene one or two at a time.
• Command should establish a Liaison with Law Enforcement to jointly coordinate the Safe Work Area and determine how to efficiently resolve incidents and establish normal traffic flows.

Fire Rescue Non-Emergency Staff Considerations

• These considerations are in addition to the above safety considerations for individual personnel operating Fire Rescue non-emergency vehicles (CAT, mechanics, inspectors, etc.) near moving traffic.
• Notify the Communication Center on Fireman (TAC 1A) of the location/situation if the staff vehicle is equipped with a mobile radio or portable radio.
• If a mobile radio or portable radio is not available, call 911 and report the location/situation.
• Base the decision to stop and render assistance on how a "reasonable and prudent" person would respond, appreciating the high risk involved.
• Relocate uninjured persons to the Safe Work Area away from moving traffic when possible.
• If stopping, staff vehicles shall be parked in a position that affords the highest safety to Fire Rescue personnel and the public, typically downstream with 4-way flashing lights turned on, and warning lights if equipped.
• Non-emergency staff vehicles should only be used as a block when extremely necessary.
• Don a safety vest before exiting the vehicle.
• If using flares, place at 15-foot intervals upstream with the furthest flare 75 feet upstream to allow adequate advance warning.