Highway Safety for Emergency Services

HSR 201 - Participant

Emergency Service Organizations (ESO) respond to a wide variety of incidents involving operations on, or near a highway.  These operations pose special risks to personnel performing fire, rescue and EMS functions.  Every year a significant number of emergency service personnel are killed or injured while operating on our highways.  There may be a wide variety of reasons for these losses, but the point still remains, they should never happen!

In many instances, an ESO responds to a "primary incident" on a highway, only to become the victim of a "secondary incident" - the nightmare in which a firfighter, EMS provider or police officer is suddenly stuck and killed by traffic.  In the words of James Joyce, Commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department, "Firefighters responding to calls need to operate as if someone is trying to run them over."  

Topics to be discussed at this workshop include:

Ø      The need for advanced warning

Ø      Apparatus positioning and placement

Ø      Pros and cons of shutting down roadways

Ø      Multi-agency communication, training and coordination

Ø      Scene lighting

Ø      Limiting time, personnel and apparatus on the scene

Ø      Retro-reflective and florescent personal protective equipment

Ø      Innovative fire apparatus safety features

Upon completion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:

Ø      Identify the "Ten Cones of Highway Safety"

Ø      Understand the elements of a safe work zone

Ø      Recognize the potential/existing safety hazards while operating on or nearby a highway

Ø      Understand the need for personal protective equipment

Ø      Understand the need for multi-agency incident command

Schedule

5:30 pm - 6:00 pm  Registration
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm  Workshop

Please register early as space is limited.  For more information, please contact Teri Janasik at 262.347.2651 or via e-mail at teri.janasik@thehortongroup.com