Ossining/Briarcliff - Serious MVA - 04/28/08

[firefighter59 20]

Head on collision rt 9a and rt 134

[Fex404 0]

I wonder why they called Bcliff Rescue.....Millwood is a mile down the road with a rescue engine, which is equipped with a full compliment of hurst rescue tools.

[Guest]

I wonder why they called Bcliff Rescue.....Millwood is a mile down the road with a rescue engine, which is equipped with a full compliment of hurst rescue tools.

Both are located about the same distance apart. I went by the accident on my way back to work. I sure hope everyone will be ok. Both vehhicles were smacked up pretty good.

[DaRock98 76]

Does anyone know the number of pt's actually extricated from the cars and how many were transported?

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

I wonder why they called Bcliff Rescue.....Millwood is a mile down the road with a rescue engine, which is equipped with a full compliment of hurst rescue tools.

I have a question about Millwood apparatus response. Why would Millwood send a rescue/engine on an extrication call when Millwood has a heavy rescue? Wouldnt a call like a heavy extrication require the more equipment on the heavy rescue as opposed to the rescue engine that according to the Millwood Fire Department website that only has a LUCUS combination tool while the heavy rescue has a full set of LUCUS extrication tools.

[mfc2257 464]

To answer a few items....

R-37 out of Briarcliff HQ and E-248 out of Millwood Station 2 are not equal distant. MFC Station 2 is 1.4 miles to the RT-9/RT-134 interchange. Briarcliff HQ is 2.9 miles.

Fex404 obviously knew that E-248 is now running as a Rescue Wagon, but I'm not necessarily sure that the rest of the surrounding FD's are aware of its new capabilities thus is it pretty logical that R-37 got the job.

For future reference, if a bread and butter cut job is needed then E-248 is the proper mutual aid unit to that location. Regardless it should probably be added to the box from now on at that location.

If a full rescue squad is needed for struts, airbags, high lift jacks etc.... (In reality there isn't a true heavy rescue anywhere in northern Westchester regardless if the chassis that are being run are heavy duty) then Briarcliff R-37, Croton R-18, and Millwood R-36 from HQ are appropriate in that order to the same location.

The choice of proper mutual aid equipment to various calls will never be made properly until each department in the county is required to hold each of its apparatus to the same standards AND the county creates a protocall for what apparatus will be called to what jobs. In reality, the OIC at this incident should not have had to specify which apparatus he/she wanted, but rather they should only have had to ask for the next due rescue company (Millwood E-248) or next due heavy squad (Briarcliff R-37) OR in lieu of those apparatus whichever came next in the CAD if they were unavailable.

Given the situation and the fact that Westchester is at least two decades behind the times as far as CAD choice of apparatus I think the right choice was made to call for R-37.

[DonMoose 3]

Some more info here:

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...EWS02/804280409

One part that caught my attention was this...

A related road rage incident occurred shortly after the accident, when one driver caught in diverted traffic threatened another with a hammer, smashing his headlight...

[Fex404 0]

From my understanding Millwood has replaced the cutter and spreader on R-36 and matched E-248 with the same system. I am not sure what they did with the combi that was on 248. Also They added a full strut system to R-36 and an air bag system to E-248. Maybe somone who knows more can elaborate.

[mfc2257 464]

Combi tool should have gone down to E-247 at HQ.

[mikeinet 37]

Yes... the web site is a little outdated... oops.

[Monty 35]

Some more info here:

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...EWS02/804280409

One part that caught my attention was this...

Actually the part that caught my attention was

The light was not working properly at the time, Provenzano said. On 9A, the light was blinking yellow. On 134, it was blinking red, he said.

That intersection is tough when the lights are working properly. Obviously I don't know if they were blinking for long - but that's an accident waiting to happen. You really need a cop there if the lights aren't working. I don't know if there is any notification when lights go in to their blinking mode - I suspect not and it's just a passing patrol that notices or someone calls it in.

[Remember585 815]

Does anyone know the number of pt's actually extricated from the cars and how many were transported?

Four patients total.

Two via OVAC 74A1, 74B1

One via Briarcliff 53B1

One via Croton 55B2 w/ 37M1

Units on scene were:

OFD: 2332, E97, E98, E101, R14

BMFD: 2051, 2052, R37, 53B1

CFD: 2083, 55B2

OVAC: 3611, 36M1, 74A1, 74B1

MPALS: 37M1

TOPD

As for why the IC called for R37 as opposed to a rescue/engine from Millwood - you'd have to ask him, as opposed to second guess him.

I don't know what equipment is on any "Rescue/Pumpers" in any department, but if I was a betting man I would say an actual "Rescue" would have EVERYTHING to do an extrication. Specifically, CRIBBING. So many of these so called rescue/pumpers (including our own) carry jaws, power units and sometimes air bags, but the one thing always lacking that I have seen is cribbing. I can visit just about every firehouse in this county, look at the rigs that are Rescue/Engines in departments with actual Rescues, and most of the time they lack cribbing. Seems like all of the cribbing a department has is piled on a rescue because there is usually a lack of space on engines to store it.

PS - Just last week I got a look at E248 and it's new equipment, very nice. I am told that E247, E248 and R36 all have hydraulic rescue tools now. Very cool...

Good job by the OFD, BMFD and EMS personnel on scene.

[mfc2257 464]

John -

You are correct. R-36, E-248, and E-247 all have hydraulic tools on them now.

Before I left for FL I built a brand new set of cribbing for both R-36 and E-248. The original cribbing for R-36 was transferred to E-247 even though there was no tool on it at the time and the scraps were tossed. Since then I'm sure stuff has been moved, scattered, added to, etc.

As for equipment:

E-247 (light rescue engine) out of HQ now carries the combi tool with gas power unit as well as R-36's old set of "O" cutters and a good set of cribbing.

E-248 (medium recue engine) out of Rt134 Station 2 carries a full set of hydraulic tools (not combi) as well as cribbing and airbags.

R-36 (heavy rescue squad) out of HQ is a soup to nuts heavy (by Westchester's standards) rescue squad with bags, tools, struts, jacks, gobs of cribbing, air chisel, etc.

However with the topic at hand, I still say that it's possible that it wasn't fully known about E-248's capabilities and that under that assumption R-37 was the right choice at the time.

Edited April 29, 2008 by mfc2257

[OnTheWheel 43]

Actually the part that caught my attention was

That intersection is tough when the lights are working properly. Obviously I don't know if they were blinking for long - but that's an accident waiting to happen. You really need a cop there if the lights aren't working. I don't know if there is any notification when lights go in to their blinking mode - I suspect not and it's just a passing patrol that notices or someone calls it in.

A little known NYS Law:

§ 1117. Traffic-control signals; malfunction. Except when directed to

proceed by a police officer, every operator of a motor vehicle

approaching an intersection governed by a traffic-control signal which

is out of service or otherwise malfunctioning shall stop in the manner

required for stop signs set forth in section eleven hundred seventy-two

of this title, and proceed according to the rules of right of way for

vehicles set forth in article twenty-six of this title.

Usually when those lights go out they barricade the center so 134 cant go across the intersection, just north or south. Maybe they JUST went to blink, obviously hard to tell from the story. But in the case of the big blackout a few years ago, this law would apply.