Roadway Responder Safety: “Communication, Coordination, Cooperation”

Apple Valley responders work at a crash scene.

Minnesota’s first responders have made progress in the area of increased safety while working at crash scenes on the roadways. Vehicle crashes scenes are complicated, as they bring together a variety of responders—it is often a combination of local police, county deputies, state troopers, local fire departments, local EMS, ambulances, medical transport units or even a medical transport helicopter that respond to the scene. MnDOT, county highway departments, and private towing companies are also part of this “dance” of equipment and people. The scenes are dynamic in that units arrive one at a time, crews deploy to complete their tasks, some units leave before others, and all of this is occurring on roadways and highways that are often open to traffic.

Recently Judy Thill, chief of the Inver Grove Fire Department, said “great steps” have been made to improve crash scene safety and noted that it’s “communication, coordination, and cooperation” that makes these scenes safe. Chief Thill and MnDOT Freeway Supervisor John McClellan have trained hundreds of first responders in how to do this in the Roadway Responder Safety training. Whether watching the news or driving our highways, it is evident that the training has taken hold and is being implemented. It is becoming rare to see emergency scenes that are not protected by the proper positioning of squad cars or fire rescue apparatus, or to see a responder not wearing a high visibility garment.

During a recent snowstorm, I came upon a crash on I-94. The road information sign on I-94 advised the line of slow-moving cars that there was a crash ahead. I spotted a State Patrol car protecting the scene, and I could not miss the trooper wearing his high-visibility jacket.

The Avon Fire Department arrives at the scene of a crash.

Weeks later, I was stopped during the evening rush hour traffic on MN-13 due to a multi-car crash that had wrecked cars and injured drivers in both the eastbound and westbound lanes.  What a mess. The responding Savage police officers used their cars to protect the scenes, and their high-visibility vests were put on in one motion as the officers stepped out of their cars and began caring for the injured.

I also spotted media photos of the Apple Valley Fire Department working at the scene of a crash. In this scene, the roadway was closed and every responder had their vest on!

And during a recent meeting with fire chiefs and trainers in Stearns County, I complimented the Avon Fire Department on the high-visibility chevron striping on the back of their trucks. They told me their last truck had just received the stripes and showed me photos of a recent crash scene on the freeway.  Again, vests were on, and the scene was protected by their trucks.

If you would like to know more about the Roadway Responder Safety training, you can contact either:

Chief Judy Thill at (651) 450-2495 or jthill@invergroveheights.org
John McClellan (651) 234-7025 or john.mcclellan@state.mn.us

Remember:

                                                  Responder Safety = Public Safety

Up next…”PATROL Course on the Ethical Use of Data Bases Will Be Available Statewide—And At No Charge”

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful.

Rob

“Excellent classes. Relevant, informational, and interesting.” Chief Tim Motherway, Crookston Police Department

LMC Sr. Staff Attorney Jack Hennen
presents "What’s Really Driving Police Crashes"

The evaluations and comments from the 2013 workshops have been gratifying. The sessions in the police track are connecting well with the officers.

Chief Kim Murphy from Thief River Falls told us: “The HR session for police was very well done, timely, and long overdue as a topic. I hope that next year this training will again be a full day with HR issues included.” That class—taught by the League’s HR staff—includes a Skype session with a police psychologist, and the staff is fielding many questions during and after the class.

The League’s litigation attorneys are teaching the data practices class. Their presentation—combined with the written materials and some real-world sample problems for the class to solve—allow officers to apply the statutes to real situations and problems.

Lt. Andy Everhart presents to attendees via Skype.

The driving session never leaves the classroom, but officers leave with roll-call-packaged training sessions, including a video of Lieutenant Andy Everhart. Lieutenant Everhart takes the class back through the last ten years of his life as he recounts his squad car accident where the people in the other car were critically injured. The focus of this class is on the officer’s decision-making while driving—particularly with regard to speed, and in treating each intersection as an “environmental change.”

Another attendee—Chief Mike Hedlund of the East Grand Forks Police Department—reflected: “The entire police track was well presented and valuable. All topics could probably have used more time. Good classes.”

If you would still like to register for a workshop this year, go to www.lmc.org/LCW13RB

Remember:

                                                Responder Safety = Public Safety

Up next……”Roadway Responder Safety: Communication, Coordination, Cooperation”

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful.

Rob

An EMS Trend That Isn’t Slowing Down: What it Means for Public Safety

Mary Zappetillo at the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board (EMSRB) provided us with Minnesota’s EMS “run numbers” for the years 2004-2012. The number of EMS calls in the state continues to increase at an average rate of 3.3% per year. The yearly totals jumped from 459,934 to 600,765 during this 8-year period, and this trend is expected to continue as Minnesota ages. The state demographer predicts that by 2020, Minnesota will have more people over the age of 65 than it has in K-12 schools.

More emergency runs mean more opportunities for injury. The LMCIT Loss Control team continues to see “patient handling” injuries on medical and accident calls as one area where responders get hurt. Unfortunately many of these injuries are the result of not only lifting, but lifting and twisting—and the resulting injuries (often to the lower back) are serious. Patients are seldom found on a level, flat surface or where they can be easily moved. And it may be anecdotal, but most of our first responders believe that their patients are not getting any smaller in size.

The Rescue Lift in action.

New Brighton Public Safety recently sent us a few lines from their overnight briefing.  An officer handling a call of a “lift assist” used their portable “Rescue Lift” to safely lift a 300-pound man who had fallen in the bathroom. The officer got the man back on his feet with no injuries to anyone. The Rescue Lift is designed for lift assists even when the patient is between the toilet and the bathtub. It is portable, and it is made in Minnesota.
Here is a link to additional information on the Rescue Lift: http://www.smthealthsystems.com/html/rescue_lift.html

We are interested in hearing what your service or department is doing to prevent and reduce injuries during patient handling, and while helping your citizens on lift assists. Please call or send me an email with your comments or thoughts.

Remember:

                                          Responder Safety = Public Safety

Up next time: “More From This Year's Safety & Loss Control Workshops”

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful.

Rob