Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Traffic Operations PDF

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Issue Date: 05/21/2018...

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Issue Date: 05/21/2018 Effective Date: 05/24/2019 PURPOSE: The purpose of this SOG is to establish guidelines when operating in or near moving vehicular traffic. AUTHORITY:  Fire Rescue Administrator SCOPE: This standard operating guideline shall apply to all Emergency Operations personnel. PROCEDURE: These guidelines provide a basic framework for most incidents. 1. Overview a. This procedure identifies parking practices for Fire Rescue apparatus and vehicles that shall provide maximum protection and safety for personnel operating in or near moving vehicle traffic. It also identifies several approaches for individual practices to keep firefighters safe while exposed to the hazardous environment created by moving traffic. b. Fire Rescue shall position 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. Such positioning shall afford protection to Fire Rescue personnel, Law Enforcement, tow service operators, patients, and the public. c. All personnel should understand and appreciate 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. d. Always consider moving vehicles as a threat to safety. At every vehicle-related emergency scene, personnel are exposed to passing motorists of varying driving abilities. 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 of these vehicle operators may be vision impaired, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or have a medical condition that affects their judgment or abilities. In addition, motorists may be completely oblivious to the employee’s presence due to distractions caused by cell phone use, loud music, conversation, inclement weather, and terrain or building obstructions. Approaching motorists shall often be looking at the scene and not the roadway in front of them. SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Page 1 of 7  e. Nighttime incidents requiring personnel to work in or near moving near traffic are particularly hazardous. Visibility is reduced and driver reaction time to hazards in the roadway is slowed. f. 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 in an urgent manner. Members of Fire Rescue who respond to the scene of traffic incidents shall make clearing the travel portion of the roadway a high priority. Whenever, or as soon as, possible, patient(s), apparatus and personnel shall relocate the incident to a safe area away from the hazards of traffic. 2. General Safety Considerations a. All emergency personnel are at great risk of injury or death while operating in or near moving traffic. There are several specific tactical procedures that should be taken to protect all personnel at the incident scene including; i. Never trust approaching traffic. ii. Avoid turning a back to approaching traffic. iii. Establish an initial block with the first arriving Fire Rescue unit. iv. Always wear high visibility reflective vests. v. Always wear structural firefighting helmet. vi. Don the appropriate level of PPE that the situation dictates. vii. Turn off all sources of vision impairment to approaching motorists at nighttime incidents including vehicle headlights and spotlights. viii. Use Fire Rescue apparatuses and Law Enforcement vehicles to redirect the flow of moving traffic. ix. Establish an adequate Transition Zone and advance warning upstream of the incident. x. Use traffic cones and/or cones illuminated by flares where appropriate. xi. As soon as practical, establish a Lookout. xii. Always maintain an acute awareness of the high risk of working in or near moving traffic. xiii. Never trust moving traffic. xiv. Always keep an eye on the moving traffic. xv. Avoid turning a back to moving traffic. 3. Emergency Scene Considerations a. Listed below are considerations for safe parking of apparatus and emergency vehicles when operating in or near moving traffic. b. Concepts and Terminology i. Downstream is the direction that traffic is moving as it travels away from the incident scene. ii. Upstream is the direction that traffic is traveling from as the vehicles approach the incident scene. iii. When roadways have more than 3 lanes in any one direction, the lanes shall be identified and labeled with numbers, starting with the far left lane. SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Page 2 of 7  iv. Lanes of traffic shall be identified numerically as “Lane 1”, “Lane 2”, etc., beginning from the driver’s left to the right. Typically, vehicles travel a lower speed in the higher number lanes. v. Shoulders should be identified using “right/left” and/or “inside/outside” and the term “shoulder”; The left shoulder is the inside shoulder and the right shoulder is the outside shoulder. i.e. inside (or left) shoulder, southbound interstate 95. vi. Responders should also indicate the relative direction of travel (e.g. northbound or southbound) along with other incident location detail and any 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”. vii. c. Blocking i. Always position Fire Rescue apparatuses to protect Fire Rescue personnel, Law Enforcement, tow service operators, patients, and the public. ii. Fire Rescue apparatus placement should slow approaching motorists and redirect them around the scene. iii. Whenever possible, Fire Rescue apparatuses and emergency vehicles shall park on the same side of the roadway. SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Page 3 of 7  iv. Blocking is the positioning of 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. v. The first arriving Fire Rescue apparatus shall provide blocking. vi. Fire Rescue apparatuses shall be placed to block at least one additional traffic lane more than that already obstructed by a crashed vehicle(s). vii. When available, the wheels of the blocking Fire Rescue apparatuses shall be chocked. viii. The front wheels of blocking apparatus shall be turned and pointed in a direction away from the incident. ix. When practical, Fire Rescue apparatuses should be positioned to protect the side of the apparatus that will be used from upstream traffic. Examples include, but are not limited to: 1. The pump panel for fire suppression operations 2. The extrication compartment for extraction use 3. The medical compartment for EMS use d. Safe Work Area i. 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. ii. The Safe Work Area shall be blocked and protected from traffic hazards. iii. The Safe Work Area shall be of sufficient size to include: 1. All damaged vehicles 2. Roadway debris 3. The patient triage and treatment area 4. The extrication work area 5. Personnel and tool staging area 6. The patient transport vehicles loading area iv. The patient transport vehicles loading area shall be angled away from the nearest lanes of moving traffic. v. Medical units shall be positioned within the Safe Work Area. e. Law Enforcement i. Provide specific directions to Law Enforcement as to exactly what traffic control is needed. ii. Law enforcement vehicles should be used to provide additional blocking of additional traffic lanes as needed. f. Multi-directional Traffic Patterns i. Multi-directional traffic patterns are any incident that has traffic moving in more than on direction near the Safe Work Area. These incidents include intersections, where the incident may be near the middle lane of the roadway, or when multiple vehicles are on different sides of the roadways. ii. All multi-directional traffic patterns shall have two or more sides of the incident blocked. SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Page 4 of 7  iii. Law Enforcement and Fire Rescue vehicles must be strategically positioned to expand the Safe Work Area for traffic approaching from opposing directions. The goal is to effectively block all exposed sides of the Safe Work Area. iv. The blocking of the Safe Work Area must be prioritized, from the most critical or highest traffic volume flow to the least critical traffic direction. g. Entering and Exiting i. Personnel must exit and enter their units with extreme caution remaining alert to moving traffic at all times. ii. Always look before opening doors and stepping out of a vehicle into any moving traffic areas. iii. Personnel arriving should exit and enter the apparatus from the downstream side. iv. A safety vest, helmet and appropriate level of PPE must be donned prior to exiting the emergency vehicle. v. Student riders arriving on an apparatus or emergency vehicles must don a safety vest prior to exiting the vehicle. vi. When walking around fire apparatus or emergency vehicle, 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. h. Lookout i. The Lookout is a Fire Rescue employee assigned to monitor upstream traffic. ii. A Lookout should be assigned on all crash incidents. iii. The Lookout shall warn operating personnel of a non-compliant motorist approaching by a portable radio or a pre-determined audible warning signal iv. A non-compliant motorist is one that is not responding to the speed changes, transition, tapering, and merging directions. i. Transition Zone and Tapering i. 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. ii. Tapering is the action of merging several lanes of moving traffic into fewer moving lanes. iii. Traffic cones shall be deployed from the rear of the blocking apparatus toward the upstream traffic to increase the advance warning. iv. Cones identify and only suggest the transition and tapering actions that are required of upstream motorist. v. Personnel shall place and retrieve cones and flares while facing upstream traffic. vi. Traffic cones shall be deployed at 15 foot intervals upstream of the blocking apparatus with the furthest traffic cone approximately 75 feet upstream to allow adequate advance warning. vii. Additional traffic cones may be retrieved from other apparatuses or Law Enforcement vehicles to extend the Transition Zone. viii. Law Enforcement may place traffic cones or flares at the scene to divert traffic. This action builds upon initial Fire Rescue cone deployment and can be expanded, if needed, as later arriving units arrive. SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Page 5 of 7  ix. Placing flares, where safe to do so, adjacent to and in combination with traffic cones for nighttime operations greatly enhances scene safety. Where safe and appropriate to do so, place warning flares to slow and divert approaching traffic. j. Termination of an Incident i. The termination of the incident must be managed with the same precautions as initial actions. Fire Rescue personnel, units, and equipment must be removed from the roadway promptly, to reduce exposure to moving traffic and minimize traffic congestion. ii. Fire Rescue personnel shall inform Law Enforcement prior to leaving the incident to provide them the opportunity to reposition their vehicles. iii. Vehicle Driver shall always look before tapering back into traffic. 4. Incident Command Considerations a. The Incident Commander shall: i. Assure that a Safe Work Area is established. ii. Ensure the Safe Work Area is maintained. iii. Ensure all personnel are wearing high visibility reflective vests. iv. Assign a parking location for all arriving apparatuses. v. Assure that patient transport vehicles are parked, and the patients being loading into them, are within the Safe Work Area. vi. Ensure that emergency warning lights remain ON. vii. Ensure vehicles Staged are off the roadway. 5. High-Volume, Limited Access Highway Operations Considerations a. The below considerations are in addition the above safety considerations. b. High-volume limited access highways include Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 95. c. The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have a desire to keep the traffic moving on these high-volume limited access highways. d. When, in the judgment of Incident Commander, it becomes essential for the safety of operating personnel and the patients involved, any or all lanes, shoulders, and entry or exit ramps of these high-volume limited access highways can be completely shut down. This, however, should rarely occur and should be for as short a period of time as practical. e. Unique safe parking procedures at high-volume limited-access highway incidents; i. Traffic cones on high-volume limited-access highways shall be placed farther apart, with the last cone approximately 150 feet upstream. This is to allow adequate warning to drivers. ii. Staging of additional units off the high-volume limited access highway may be required. iii. Patient transport vehicles may be brought onto the scene one or two at a time. f. Command should establish a Liaison with Law Enforcement as soon as possible to jointly coordinate the Safe Work Area and to determine how to most efficiently resolve the incident and establish normal traffic flows. 6. Fire Rescue Non-Emergency Staff Considerations SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Page 6 of 7  a. The below considerations are in addition the above safety considerations. b. Listed below are safe actions of individual personnel who operate Fire Rescue non- emergency vehicles (i.e., CAT, mechanics, inspectors, etc...) when operating in or near moving vehicle traffic. i. If the staff vehicle is equipped with a mobile radio or portable radio, notify the Communication Center on Fireman (TAC 1A) of the location and type of situation. ii. If a mobile radio or portable radio is not available, call 911 and report the location and type of situation. iii. The decision to stop and render assistance shall be based on how a “reasonable and prudent” person would respond. iv. Stopping to render assistance when operating in or near moving vehicle traffic is dangerous and personnel must appreciate the high risk they are exposed to when operating in or near moving vehicle traffic. v. When possible, relocate uninjured persons and to the Safe Work Area away from moving traffic. vi. If the decision is made to stop at a scene of an incident, the staff vehicle shall be parked in a position that affords the highest safety to Fire Rescue personnel and the public. vii. Generally, low-profile staff cars should be parked downstream of the incident with the vehicle’s 4-way flashing lights turned on. Vehicles equipped with warning lights shall have the vehicle’s warning lights and 4-way flashing lights turned on. viii. Only when extremely necessary shall a non-emergency staff vehicle be used as a block. ix. A safety vest must be donned prior to exiting the vehicle. x. If flares are used, when safe to do so, they shall be placed at 15 foot intervals upstream of the incident with the furthest flare approximately 75 feet upstream to allow adequate advance warning to drivers. Supersession History 1. SOG #1740, issued 06/01/2008 2. SOG #1740, issued 10/01/2012 3. SOG 310-01, clerical 05/01/2018 4. SOG 310-01, issued 05/21/2018 5. SOG 310-01, clerical 5/24/2019 SOG 310-01 Traffic Operations Page 7 of 7