Though it doesn’t happen often, emergency responders and their vehicles do get hit every year while responding to accidents.
Here in Carter County, Emergency Management Agency Director Gary Smith said it hasn’t happened in years, but he has seen many nearly disastrous accidents take place.
For this reason, Lt. Rick Garrison of the Tennessee Highway Patrol provided a two-day Traffic Incident Management course for members of the Elizabethton Fire Department, Elizabethton Police Department, various Volunteer Fire Departments and members of the Emergency Management Agency.
Whether these accidents upon accidents result from drivers disregarding traffic direction or not seeing the accident in time, preparedness on the part of emergency responders and awareness from drivers can save additional lives.
“I’ve almost been hit several times, and I know that at least one deputy at an accident on HWY 321 also almost got run over because people were not paying attention,” said Smith. “The class is definitely something every responder needs to be aware of. A lot of it is common sense, but until you see some of the dangers, you can kind of take it for granted that people may not move over every time, and that’s why its important to set up recovery or rescue properly.”
The class teaches planned and coordinated multi-disciplinary processes to detect, respond to and clear traffic incidents to restore a functional flow of traffic quickly and safely. Smith said it is a relatively new course that will likely be required in the future, which he said will be positive for drivers, crash victims and emergency responders alike.
He said they learned how to stage equipment in a way that prepares the responders on scene as well as effectively directing traffic away from potentially dangerous proximity. Knowing how to do this on scenes with curbs, hills or multiple lanes of traffic is invaluable.
“This was a very good course; I really enjoyed it,” he said.
Though he said they have not had any direct contact incidents in a few years, he could recall a number of times when people have simply disregarded a road block and tried to drive right by the scene. One time, he said a woman tried to cut the traffic line to get her grandson to a pizza shop.
“People get so focused on their own lives that they don’t realize that people on the scene are trying to help and they’re causing a hindrance,” said Smith. “There have been some real interesting events on these scenes. You just don’t know what people are going to do.”
The purpose of the class is to prepare emergency responders to best keep everyone safe, Smith said. And to drivers, he advised driving cautiously and slowly near an emergency scene, and being respectful of the people directing traffic, monitoring leaks, assisting crash victims and moving or towing vehicles. Tow truck drivers seem to be the ones that are injured the most in these sorts of accidents, he said.
“We appreciate the room and patience,” he said. “We know it’s inconvenient, but somebody whose life may be in the balance is certainly more important than getting pizza.”