Roadway Operations Safety

Photo illustrating layout of emergency vehicles, rraffic cones, and warning signs at an incident on the roadway.

Photo illustrating layout of emergency vehicles, rraffic cones, and warning signs at an incident on the roadway.

ResponderSafety.Com - Roadway Safety Initiative for Emergency Responders

USFA has been working with the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association's (CVVFA) Emergency Responder Safety Institute to enhance the operational safety of emergency responders on the highways. This on-going effort has resulted in the development of a White Paper - Protecting Emergency Responders on the Highways and supporting their ResponderSafety.com web site.

USFA has received support for this initiative from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and most recently from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

Having DOJ, DOT, and USFA work together in enhancing roadway operations safety will benefit law enforcement, highway workers, and the fire service community alike.

This project will examine the development of advanced technology and systems that will permit nationwide sharing of lessons learned among transportation, public safety, and emergency personnel enabling them to more effectively respond to roadway incidents more effectively and safer. It brings together advocacy for effective highway incident management and training of emergency response personnel. This effort will also study the feasibility of applying technologies to improve highway incident management and responder safety.

Study of Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS)

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The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration, working in partnership with the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), developed a report that provides technical guidance and training programs in traffic incident management for fire and emergency service providers.

The report, Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS), contains guidance for local-level fire departments on compliance with the DOT's Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the National Fire Service Incident Management System (IMS) Consortium's Model Procedures Guide for Highway Incidents.

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This project included research into emergency services implementation of TIMS and the IMS Consortium Guide, examining such technologies and practices as effective distance for placement of roadway warning signs; correct amount and type of emergency vehicle warning lighting (e.g., intensity, color, etc.); and training, placement, and protective equipment for "flaggers".

The manual includes case studies of roadway incidents that have taken the lives of firefighters, highway scene safety survival basics, incident command for roadway incidents, and examples of effective TIMS programs. It also provides information on the American National Standards Institute/ International Safety Equipment Association (ANSI/ISEA) standard 207, High Visibility Public Safety Vests.

Implementing an effective TIMS could have an impact on reducing the number of firefighters struck and killed by vehicles while performing emergency operations.

Recruitment and Retention of Fire Service Traffic Control Personnel

Fire Service Traffic Control Personnel Setting up Traffic Cones

Fire Service Traffic Control Personnel Setting up Traffic Cones on Roadway

USFA and the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association's (CVVFA) Emergency Responder Safety Institute collaborated on a study to examine effective recruitment and retention methods and techniques for Fire Service Traffic Control Volunteers, referred to in some areas of the United States as Fire Police. This study examined the recruitment of non-active fire service response support personnel (i.e., former firefighters and other emergency responders, etc.) and citizen volunteers (especially those that would volunteer under the Fire Corps program), as well as effective techniques to retain members currently serving in this role.

The study, supported by Fire Corps, illustrates the important services that these emergency support volunteers can provide.

As part of this study, a review and demonstration project was conducted. Project results are contained in a manual that establishes guidelines for the training and use of volunteers as Traffic Control Volunteers to protect responders and the public at crashes, fires, or at special events in the community. This manual, Developing Traffic Control Assistant Training Programs (PDF, 1.7 Mb), provides information to assist in the establishment and management of these valuable units within a fire or police department. Information developed from this study will be incorporated into products to support recruitment and retention of Fire Service Traffic Control Volunteers and disseminated via the ResponderSafety.com Web site.

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