First responders from around Tooele County learned about safely and efficiently managing traffic incidents on Wednesday including a tabletop exercise featuring diecast cars.
The training at the Emergency Operations Center was requested by Tooele County dispatch and led by Joaquin Mixco, Utah Department of Transportation emergency manager.
Representatives from dispatch, fire, EMS, police, public works, and tow truck companies attended the training, which is part of a National Highway Institute initiative. The training covered safe crash scene set-up, incident clearance and multiple agency coordination.
Mixco said first responders arrive on scene with a specific goal or task at hand, which can cause them to focus on their objectives over their safety or coordination with other agencies.
“This is an opportunity for people to see, ‘Hey, I’ve got to be safe, I’ve got to watch my brother or sister responder,’” he said.
First responders focus primarily on life saving, followed by incident stabilization and managing property loss, Mixco said. While emergency crews are taking a deliberate risk by doing their jobs, they can mitigate the overall risk using proper accident scene set-up.
“This is about protecting the victim and the responder as well,” Mixco said. “This environment is super, super hazardous.”
Every year, an average of 60 tow truck drivers, 12 firefighters and six law enforcement officers die at the scene of accidents in the United States, according to Mixco.
While first responders may have experience working in certain situations and in certain areas, the variables in every accident — the victim and other motorists — mean responders must be alert, Mixco said. Using vehicles to protect responders, wearing reflective vests and other steps can alert motorists to slow down and use caution.
During the tabletop exercise, representatives of the various involved agencies took on different roles — with police officers putting themselves in the shoes of EMS and fire personnel or dispatchers taking the role of crash victims or roads crews. Using diecast cars, miniature cones and other props, they created a two-vehicle accident on a multi-lane highway, establishing appropriate buffers, signage and other protections for victims, responders and motorists.
The exercise allowed responders to better understand the roles of other agencies and the full scope of responsibilities at an accident scene, if they’re the first to respond or in charge of the operation, Mixco said.
In addition to the possibility of loss of life, accidents and the subsequent delays due to lane closures represent a significant impact on the economy, according to Mixco. He said as much as 20 percent of the nation’s truck traffic use Interstates 15 and 80, meaning the impact can be significant.
Tooele County Emergency Management Director Bucky Whitehouse said the training is important to ensure the impact of traffic accidents is mitigated for motorists and first responders.
“The faster and safer we can get those individuals to work and back home again, the better it’s going to be for everyone involved,” Whitehouse said. “We want to have our first responders stay safe while they’re dealing with incidents as they occur, but we also understand how important it is for people to get to their destination.”