March 2015 * View from the Street

By Eric Reddeck,  NFFF * Everyone Goes Home Advocate http://www.everyonegoeshome.com

Roadway Incident Safety article for NFFF Everyone Goes Home, by Jack Sullivan — Traffic Incident Management Committees or Task Groups are an excellent way to promote and facilitate ongoing communication and collaboration. http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/2015/03/23/roadway-safety/

One topic for TIM Committees is the Emergency Vehicle Preemption of traffic signals that expedite emergency response, reduce crash rates and mitigate risk, and promote mutual aid strategies. In Liberty Township, Powell, Ohio, consider these average response times — Fire (pre-GPS): 7 minutes, 3 seconds; Fire (with GPS): 4 minutes, 4 seconds (42% reduction); EMS (pre-GPS): 6 minutes, 9 seconds; and EMS (with GPS): 3 minutes, 41 seconds (40% reduction). http://www.gtt.com/opticom-emergency-response 

First responders need to request from their state and  local traffic engineers that traffic signals have Emergency Vehicle Preemption, which saves 30-45 seconds per intersection. An example of positive regional teamwork can be scene from PPP of the Hampton Roads MPO meeting on April 15, 2009: http://www.hrtpo.org/uploads/docs/16_MPO_Emerg_Veh_Premeption.pdf.

2015 — Killed in the Line of Duty

Police Officers    30  http://www.odmp.org/search/year/2014?ref=sidebar
Firefighters         18   http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/
EMS                       2    http://www.nemsms.org/notices.ht
Towers                  5    http://www.internationaltowingmuseum.org

Eric Reddeck hrfsoc@cox.net
NFFF Everyone Goes Home Advocate  http://www.everyonegoeshome.com