Apparatus Accidents on the Rise?

[IzzyEng4 427]

As I usually do reading all the fire amd EMS websites, It seems to me that there has been a rise in apparatus accidents. Just this past week Beltsville, MD rolled thier Pierce / Bronto Skylift going to a call. The said that weight and speed were initial factors to the accident.

I know many of us here are apparatus drivers and engineers and I wanted to see what your thoughs were. Are accidents involving emergency vehicles on the rise again or is it just isolated? What are we doing to prevent these accidents?

I don't want to beat this subject into the ground but there has been alot of them again lately.

Edited April 22, 2006 by IzzyEng4

[CFD320 35]

I would bet the sheer size of the newer apparatus has alot to do with the increase in their involvement in traffic accidents.

We have 3 engines in my department, my engine used the be the largest in town by far. When the new 119 is delivered in six weeks or so mine will then be the smallest...

Be safe

[grumpyff 1,159]

It gets more press lately, buut I think it has more to do with todays cars being better insulated against noise. With the windows up, radio on, and the heater/AC on, I can barely hear a siren until it is right on top of me. Add in cell phones, in car entertainment systems, and navigation systems, todays drivers have more distractions with will prevent them from hearing anything. Then when they do hear/see the emergency vehicle, they panick...stop suddenly and sometimes swerve to the side. It think this might be cause of any increase in accidents.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

You would have to find a site with apparatus accident data to see if they are increasing and if they will list the cause. The biggest factors always are speed and due regard issues.

As far as passenger vehicle dynamics, I agree with what was posted. As far as that being involved in any perceived increase in apparatus accidents I'm not sure. If a civilian vehicle driver of any type of vehicle panics, so be it. You have to ensure you are in control of your vehicle to handle that, if you can't you are either going to fast or are to close. The right of way is requested, not taken, if they don't move, you stay in control remain calm and keep requesting it, you will get there anyway, and passing that vehicle will only save on average 3-5 seconds. Saving seconds is costing us lives. You must always anticipate what the driver in front of you, behind you and coming at you in intersections is going to do and expect the worse or unexpected. And remember in intersections, until they come to a complete stop, you cannot assume they are giving you the right of way. They may get a failure to yield ticket. But you or crew members could get injured or even killed for that assumption. AND ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT, EVERYTIME NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE DOING. GET DRESSED BEFORE YOU GET ON THE VEHICLE, WHEN YOU DON YOUR SCBA PUT THE SEATBELT BACK ON! The SCBA brackets with the straps are not rated for humans, they only stop the SCBA's from becoming airborne.

[AFD_32_4 0]

Almost 25% of fire fighter fatalities were from vehicle accidents Anyone interested, will know that the IAFC 2nd national fire fighter stand down, scheduled for June 21, with the focus for this year’s stand down on emergency vehicle safety. From the clip below, there were 26 fire fighter deaths from vehicular accidents This is up from the past few years.

In 2005, there were 4 multiple-firefighter fatality incidents.

Two New York City firefighters died in January when rapid fire progress forced them to jump from a fire-involved structure;

3 firefighters were killed in the crash of a helicopter in Texas in March as they assisted with a controlled burn;

2 Wyoming firefighters died in a residential structure fire in April;

and 3 firefighters were killed in the crash of an air tanker in California.

Additionally, the New York City Fire Department suffered a third firefighter fatality on the same day as the January incident cited above, at another incident scene. The Memphis, Tennessee Fire Department lost 2 firefighters in separate incidents during the year.

Additionally, heart attacks were responsible for the deaths of 48 firefighters in 2005, reduced from 61 in 2004. Seven firefighters died of CVAs in 2005, up from 4 in 2004. Vehicle crashes took the lives of 26 firefighters in 2005. Five firefighters were killed in tanker (tender) crashes, 5 firefighters were killed in crashes that involved passenger vehicles, and 4 firefighters were killed in pumper crashes. Firefighters were also killed in crashes involving ATVs, aircraft, and a boat.