Scene safety, scene safety, scene safety....

[DwayneEMTP]

Man...this thread has gone in so many more positive directions that I'd hoped and not to a single negative place that I'd feared...

Awesome guys and gals, thanks for the education! And I'm not being fascetious...I don't remember the last time that I thought of the 'rule of thumb' or that there was a relatively reliable distance between telephone poles that you could use to measure a safe distance from a hazard. Cool as hell...

I seem to find, for myself, that there is not a single EMS related discussion, no matter how banal the subject, that I don't find something new, or am reminded of something that I knew but had forgotten.

Thanks for your time everyone...But more than that, thanks for your amazing spirits.

Dwayne

[EMT155]

was trying to think of something that hadn't already been covered here so as not to sound like a broken record, and this crazy week we've had here did the trick while catching up. Dwayne, the one thing I've learned, is that it isn't always the dispatcher's fault either, they have to rely on the info obtained by the call taker, and the call takers have to rely on the caller to give them accurate information. If the caller said there was a man down by a smoking truck, most of us are going to think there was an accident. Obviously not the case here. Remember, your info going in is only as good as the lowest common denominator who called it in. I don't care who called it in, you'll almost never get a complete idea of what's up till you get there.

Hope you all had a great week

Jim

[FireMedic65]

Well.. aside from responding without lights or sirens... approaching an accident without properly identying things from a distance... you could clearly see smoke and a tank in the video from a distance. Getting out and checking for survivors.. not informing dispatch.. and whatever else everyone else mentioned...

Very sad indeed. Please people.. use your head. Don't get tunnel vision. Use the ERG, use the binoculars. Don't make yourself another victim. Don't be selfious.. you have loved ones at home.

[Lone Star]

was trying to think of something that hadn't already been covered here so as not to sound like a broken record, and this crazy week we've had here did the trick while catching up. Dwayne, the one thing I've learned, is that it isn't always the dispatcher's fault either, they have to rely on the info obtained by the call taker, and the call takers have to rely on the caller to give them accurate information. If the caller said there was a man down by a smoking truck, most of us are going to think there was an accident. Obviously not the case here. Remember, your info going in is only as good as the lowest common denominator who called it in. I don't care who called it in, you'll almost never get a complete idea of what's up till you get there.

Hope you all had a great week

Jim

We can only guess who got the call first. The information that it was a hazmat incident was relayed to Fire and EMS. We can only guess as to why it wasn't passed on to law enforcement.

Well.. aside from responding without lights or sirens... approaching an accident without properly identying things from a distance... you could clearly see smoke and a tank in the video from a distance. Getting out and checking for survivors.. not informing dispatch.. and whatever else everyone else mentioned...

Very sad indeed. Please people.. use your head. Don't get tunnel vision. Use the ERG, use the binoculars. Don't make yourself another victim. Don't be selfious.. you have loved ones at home.

First off, the setting is rural Illinois, dirt roads and no other traffic around. Is it REALLY necessary to go blasting down the dirt roads with lights flashing and sirens blaring when there's obviously no one around?

Fire and EMS both responded with lights and siren, but to assume that the trooper didn't at least have his lights activated is a presumption based on facts not in evidence. Since it was broad daylight, you're not going to see the effects of the lightbar.

[JPINFV]

I've actually been doing some Googling on the video and based on some of the threads I saw and since there is no actual news articles connected with this, it does appear that this was a very well staged training video. Additionally, if the officer did die with the accident occuring in 2000, was he the officer that died in 2001, 2003, 2006, or 2007?

http://www.isp.state.il.us/aboutisp/memorial.cfm

[Just Plain Ruff]

I've actually been doing some Googling on the video and based on some of the threads I saw and since there is no actual news articles connected with this, it does appear that this was a very well staged training video. Additionally, if the officer did die with the accident occuring in 2000, was he the officer that died in 2001, 2003, 2006, or 2007?

http://www.isp.state.il.us/aboutisp/memorial.cfm

Good research JP

If this is a training video then it was excellently done.

[Chief1C]

Should be required viewing for any scene safety class.

They do. In fact, the 16 hour course, which is a prerequisite for all fire training.. In chocked full of videos like this. So is the first 48 hours of Delmar Essentials.

The video is a training film.

[FireMedic65]

We can only guess who got the call first. The information that it was a hazmat incident was relayed to Fire and EMS. We can only guess as to why it wasn't passed on to law enforcement.

First off, the setting is rural Illinois, dirt roads and no other traffic around. Is it REALLY necessary to go blasting down the dirt roads with lights flashing and sirens blaring when there's obviously no one around?

Fire and EMS both responded with lights and siren, but to assume that the trooper didn't at least have his lights activated is a presumption based on facts not in evidence. Since it was broad daylight, you're not going to see the effects of the lightbar.

Well.. the law is the law. Also, you could see reflections of other units in the smoke when the arrived.

[DwayneEMTP]

I've actually been doing some Googling on the video and based on some of the threads I saw and since there is no actual news articles connected with this, it does appear that this was a very well staged training video. Additionally, if the officer did die with the accident occuring in 2000, was he the officer that died in 2001, 2003, 2006, or 2007?

http://www.isp.state...sp/memorial.cfm

You know, I thought that maybe I should research the video before posting, but then decided that it didn't really matter to the lesson. Fact or fiction, the 'truths' behind the scenario are undeniable. One of those rare times that we don't need a study to prove that the intuitive conclusion is perfectly correct.

Thanks for looking though, and reporting back.

Dwayne

[Just Plain Ruff]

You know, I thought that maybe I should research the video before posting, but then decided that it didn't really matter to the lesson. Fact or fiction, the 'truths' behind the scenario are undeniable. One of those rare times that we don't need a study to prove that the intuitive conclusion is perfectly correct.

Thanks for looking though, and reporting back.

Dwayne

But seriously, does it matter if it was training or not? The value of this video is incalculable for training purposes and What the hell NOT to do!!!!!!