One of the most dangerous aspects of a firefighter’s job is working in or near traffic. You don’t have to wait very long for news of a highway incident involving a first responder or look very hard to find statistics that confirm that roadway incidents injure or kill more first responders every year. Regardless of whether you’re in a large metropolitan area or a small rural community, your fire, police, and medical first responders will be potentially placing themselves in harm’s way when operating in or around traffic. If there’s a roadway in your jurisdiction, there’s a traffic hazard. No department is exempt from working in or near traffic. We must revisit the potential hazards regularly and work hard at combating complacency to avoid injuries and death (photo 1)
How do we do our job, protect ourselves, and make our operations in or near traffic safer? Recall the last few responses that required you to work in or near traffic:
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