Columbia Fire Department traffic training helps keep first responders safe at highway scenes
Melissa Houston
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Kmiz)
The Columbia Fire Department held a Traffic Incident Management training session on Wednesday to review safety protocols for road incidents.
Firefighters gathered at the Columbia Fire Training Academy for the training led by Battalion Chief Roger Mertenmeyer.
The entire department has completed this course, which is offered a few times a year. The training is open to dispatchers, media, tow truck companies and any personnel who work with accident scenes.
The course teaches emergency personnel vehicle placement strategies and methods to keep traffic flowing and reduce the risk of any secondary crashes.
“Training is solely geared around roadway incidents and the safety of responders for one, and then the general public passing through it,” Mertenmeyer said.
According to data from the 2015 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Report and the National Fire Protection Association, an average of 10 officers, four firefighters and an estimated 40 to 60 towing and recovery professionals are killed each year from being struck at a scene. Mertenmeyer also said that on-site responders are highly susceptible to being hit by moving traffic and distracted drivers.
An example took place in Boone County in 2021, when Boone County Fire District Assistant Chief Bryant Gladney was struck and killed while responding to a tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 70.
Mertenmeyer also said that traffic backups, especially in construction zones, make the area even more dangerous for responders because of high-speed traffic approaching stopped vehicles.
“Anytime we’re on the roadway, it’s dangerous, and so when we extend that time period we’re on the roadway, it extends the amount of exposure we have to moving traffic,” Mertensmeyer said.
The safety of the responders is Mertensmeyer’s main goal in these trainings, and he urges the public to stay alert when driving, especially near a roadside incident.
“Everyone seems to want to look and see what’s going on on our emergency scenes as they go by, and I understand that for a lot of people, they don’t get to see that all the time,” Mertensmeyer said. “However, when you take your eyes off where you’re supposed to go, then that’s what causes you to drift and perhaps hit another vehicle next to you or hit one of our responders.”