The call comes in "Structure Fire People Trapped"! The adrenaline starts going, you put on your gear and jump into the drivers seat, waiting for everyone to get on the truck. Everyone is on and ready to go. You turn on the lights and sirens and pull out into traffic. At this point you have many thoughts running through your head, what is the fastest way to get there, who else is responding ("No way I'm going to let them beat me in!"), "did I remember to check the water level in the tank this morning", did I turn the oven off?
While these thoughts are running through your head you are barrelling down the road in a 30,000 lb panic creator. In 2014 according to the NFPA there were 4,165 firefighter injuries from responding to/returning from incidents. It's an unfortunate fact that most civilian drivers do not know what to do when an emergency vehicles is coming down the road. It is imperative that as a driver of an emergency vehicle yu recognize the fact that when people see you coming down the road many times their first instinct is to just "react". Most civilians reaction is to slam on their brakes, this action can really complicate things for us. As a emergency vehicle operator you have to be ready for this. Actually you have to be ready for just about anything. Plan your moves ahead of time, try to think of the possible courses of action the car/cars in front of you might or might not do. Never assume a civilian driver is going to do 'what they are suppose to".
Remember to follow your state and local laws/protocols on operating emergency vehicles. Train in emergency vehicle driving techniques, make sure you are very comfortable with handling the rig way before you ever think about driving it on an emergency run. A good way to start driving is to let the rookie drive to and from the training session, knowing that if an emergency run comes in the experienced driver is going to take the wheel. Know your vehicles breaking distance. Know your vehicles turning radius. Plan your moves ahead of time. Remember that when you are responding to a call we know we are coming, the little elderly lady 3 cars up may not know we are there until the last second, plan for this.
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