Keeping It Safe
By Robert Tutterow

Conspicuity Means Being Seen – Always
Conspicuity – the quality or state of being conspicuous. Conspicuous – obvious to the eye or mind. We have known since the inception of fire apparatus that we need to be seen. Heck, it’s not a fire truck if there are no warning lights. Combined with audible warning devices, we are usually very visible as we respond to incidents.

The NFPA Technical Committee on Apparatus has developed requirements in the next revision of NFPA 1901 – Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus to address conspicuity.

However, the new conspicuity requirements in the next revision of the standard, effective January 2009, are for “on scene” safety rather than “responding” safety. The revised standard will address: 1. traffic vests; 2. traffic cones; 3. lighted traffic diversion devices; and last, but not least 4. chevron striping on the rear of apparatus.

A traffic vest will be required for each seated position on the apparatus. And it cannot be just any traffic vest. It must be an ANSI/ISEA 207, Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vest.

This is a new standard developed especially for emergency responders. In fact the NFPA 1901 requirement exceeds the ANSI/ISEA 207 standard by requiring the optional break-away feature. The break-away feature must located at each shoulder, two at the sides and one at the front. The committee used the information and expertise of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute to develop its requirements for conspicuity. If you are not familiar the organization, please view their Web site at www.respondersafety.com.

The apparatus must be equipped with a minimum of five fluorescent orange traffic cones. The cones must no less than 28 inches in height, with a 6-inch retro-reflective white band no more than 4 inches from the top of the cone, and an additional 4 inch retro-reflective white band 2 inches below the 6-inch band. This requirement is based on the MUTCD – Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as approved by the Federal Highway Administrator as the national standard.

The MUTCD has long been an established national standard for the use of traffic control devices such as signs, signals and pavement markings and for traffic control procedures. The MUTCD is well known among traffic and transportation professionals, but much less so among public safety and private sector responding professionals.

Black On Pink Signs
On Nov. 20, 2003, the final rule on the changes in the MUTCD was published in the Federal Register. The new MUTCD 2003 contains a new Chapter 61, Control of Traffic Through Traffic Incident Management Areas. This chapter defines traffic control procedures for minor, intermediate, and major traffic incidents.

In addition, Chapter 2 establishes a new color (black legend on fluorescent pink background) for traffic incident management. Many of you have seen these “watermelon” colored portable signs. The NFPA does not require the signs, but they could be very beneficial in your area. Remember, nothing prohibits you from exceeding NFPA standards.

In addition, the standard also requires a minimum of five illuminated warning devices such as highway flares, unless the five fluorescent orange traffic cones have illuminating capabilities. All of the previously mentioned items are part of the miscellaneous equipment carried on the apparatus.

Again, last but not least, certainly the new requirement for chevron striping on the rear of apparatus will be one of the most controversial requirements of NFPA 1901. In addition to some limited opposition to requiring the standards, there was considerable opposition to specifying the exact colors and size of the striping. I will explain the substantiation about that later. What exactly are the requirements of the chevron striping?

The Chevron Pattern
At least 50 percent of the rear-facing vertical surfaces, visible from the rear of the apparatus, excluding any pump panel areas not covered by a door, shall be equipped with retro-reflective striping in a chevron pattern sloping downward and away from the center line of the vehicle at an angle of 45 degrees.

Each stripe in the chevron shall be a single color alternating between red and either yellow, fluorescent yellow, or fluorescent yellow green. Each stripe shall be 6 inches wide.

All retro-reflective materials shall conform to the requirements of ASTM D4956, Standard Specification for Retro-reflective Sheeting for Traffic Control, Section 6.1.1 for Type 1 Sheeting.

As stated earlier, there was considerable opposition to specifying the colors and sizes. Many departments expressed their desire to choose their own colors and sizes—just as they have a choice in the color of their apparatus. The committee weighed this position very carefully and finally reached a consensus that a standard was needed. As more and more of our incidents are highway incidents, the committee decided we should have a standard “look” when operating on roadways.

Yellow In Daylight
We cannot forget that conspicuity is not just a night-time issue. That is the primary reason that yellow was selected as one of the two colors. Yellow is the most distinguishable color in daylight, especially when framed by a sea of concrete on a multi-lane highway.

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has a vehicle safety program PowerPoint presentation. One of the slides includes a photo of a Plano (Texas) Fire Department apparatus on the scene of a motor vehicle accident on a multi-lane road during sunlight. The Plano Fire Department has used red/yellow chevron striping for years and its apparatus visually “pops out” from everything else in the photo.

Fire departments must realize that roadway incidents involve a lot more hazards than non-roadway incidents. Roadway incidents are typically multi-agency response incidents, and traffic control is crucial. Far too many responders are being killed and injured while operating at roadway incidents and far too many apparatus are being struck while positioned at roadway incidents.

The motoring public needs to have consistent warnings across the nation. Consider for a minute this scenario – you are taking a family vacation to the beach or the mountains. Your road trip is 4 to 6 hours. How many different fire response districts will you cross during this trip? What are the chances that more than one fire department will respond to a roadway emergency incident along the way?

As a motorist, you expect the signage along the way to be consistent. What would you do if you came to a stop sign that was triangular in shape with white letters on a blue background? Stop signs are the same shape and color in every state. Yet, as a kid, I remember seeing yellow stop signs with black lettering.

A consistent national standard has it safety benefits. There is a reason the MUTCD included Chapter 61, Control of Traffic Through Traffic Incident Management Areas. And, there is an organization known as NTIMC – National Traffic Incident Management Coalition – which promotes a national agenda for standardized traffic incident management.

Despite the opposition to the color selection, the committee also had strong letters of support from the Health and Safety Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the Emergency Responder Safety Institute.

It is for these reasons, and others, that the technical committee made the tough (and correct decision) to establish a standard.

If a standard is not established now, it will be harder to establish one later, and there might be an initiative for a non-fire service organization to develop our requirements. We definitely do not need that.

Editor’s Note: Robert Tutterow, who has 30 years in the fire service, is the Charlotte (N.C.) Fire Department health and safety officer. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Fire Department Apparatus Committee and is on two other NFPA committees, the Structural and Proximity Firefighting Protective Ensemble Technical Committee and the Technical Correlating Committee for Fire and Emergency Services PPE.