In the early morning hours of Dec. 14, 2009, Lake County (Fla.) Fire Rescue located was dispatched to a motor-vehicle accident under a turnpike bridge overpass that involved a pickup truck and rolled-over semi-tractor trailer with ensuing fire. The initial response consisted of two pumpers, one pumper tanker, and an ambulance. Weather conditions consisted of dense fog that caused poor visibility and slippery road conditions known as “black ice.” All response routes leading to the incident scene were two-lane rural roads with posted speed limits between 45 and 55 mph.

The 3,000-gallon tanker pumper — a 2005 model, tandem-axle, commercial-truck design — responded with a two-person crew from the first-due station located about five miles away. This unit was within a mile of the incident scene when it approached a sweeping S-curve at about 35 mph. When the driver released the accelerator to slow down, the exhaust braking system engaged, which caused the rear tires to lose traction. The apparatus' conventional brakes then were applied, but the skid on the black ice already had begun. When the tires came in contact with the off-road surface, they grabbed, which caused the apparatus to roll onto its right side. The unit rolled over one complete rotation before landing upright on its wheels and coming to rest on top of the roadside guardrail.

Damage was extensive to all sides of the cab and water tank. The guardrail fortunately got entangled with the rear tandem tires, which prevented the unit from rolling or sliding down a moderately steep embankment. Additional units were diverted to this call that upon arrival triaged, stabilized and packaged both the driver and officer for transport. Both were ground-transported, with one being taken to the nearest hospital and the other to the local trauma center. Both were treated and released with minor injuries.

Increased Awareness

Lake County covers 1,200 square miles in central Florida. The county lacks municipal water service throughout most of the unincorporated response area. Therefore a fleet of 14 tanker/pumpers provides water supply for structural and wildland fires. A tanker task force consisting of three 2,500-3,000-gallon tanker pumpers is dispatched for every structure-fire response. Additional tankers respond from stations that have adequate staffing to do so. These units weigh from 55,000-60,000 pounds when completely full, and all are configured for emergency response. Typically, at least four tankers would respond to a structure fire in areas that lack hydrants.

Like every fire department in America, the economic downturn has had a significant impact on Lake County's operations. For example, new firefighters previously were assigned to a company officer for a minimum of 90 days before they started floating to other stations for leave coverage. Today, in an effort to reduce overtime, the 90-day period has been reduced to 30 days. As a result, many newly hired firefighters have to drive apparatus after only 30 days of supervision. These firefighters are put through EVOC training during their four weeks of orientation, so they do get some seat time on the tankers. And these new firefighters get as much behind-the-wheel time as possible during their initial 30-day assignment.

Fortunately, the driver and officer survived this serious rollover accident because they were properly wearing seatbelt harnesses. Lake County is a proud supporter and participant in the National Firefighter Seatbelt Pledge Campaign and can claim 100% compliance. If the personnel had not been wearing their seatbelts, this rollover incident most certainly would have resulted in a very different and tragic ending, with both crew members being ejected and potentially crushed by the rolling apparatus. Apparatus can be replaced — firefighters cannot.

The other important point under “lessons learned” is that drivers should make sure that exhaust braking systems are not engaged when traveling or responding on slippery road surfaces. Precipitation does not have to be falling from the sky to create such conditions. Dense fog, for instance, can produce a moisture film on road surfaces, which in this case turned to black ice. Drivers should check the operational status of these systems before responding. During slippery conditions, exhaust braking systems should be disengaged. Moreover, the conventional brakes only should be used per the manufacturer's operating recommendations for such conditions.

After this incident, the entire fleet was inspected and steps were taken to ensure that units equipped with engine braking devices had clearly displayed warning signs that instruct drivers to disengage the exhaust braking system during inclement weather. Additionally, a safety message was sent to all personnel to ensure that they are following the manufacturers' recommendations for both exhaust and conventional braking systems. An in-house engine-operations training class also was started. One of the topics discussed concerns disengaging exhaust braking systems when weather conditions warrant. Finally every unit in the fleet was weighed to ensure none was overweight.

In the end, the two firefighters involved in this accident were fortunate. Departments that respond to emergencies with tankers should train and educate all probable drivers to prepare them for slippery road conditions.

Jim Dickerson, is the assistant chief of operations for Lake County Fire Rescue in Tavares, Fla.

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