New Technology – New Challenges for Firefighters
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By President Tom Rinaldi,
Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York
New technology brings new challenges to the fire service. We have always had problems at the scene of an incident with what used to be known as "rubberneckers" – those people who would, no matter what lane they were driving in, slow down to look creating an additional hazard. Very often their actions would cause an accident on an accident, creating the need for additional first responders. Drivers not paying attention to the traffic flow, but paying attention to the incident usually wind up causing a low speed back to front accident, which just diverted limited resources.
With today’s technology in hand, we don’t just slow down for the incident, now we have to slow down or stop to take a picture or video of the event so we can be the first to post it on social media. Instead of "rubberneckers" we now have the "photo freaks" who just complicate the traffic at the scene of the incident.
Forgive them for they know not what they do. Most of these people, in the interest of self-satisfaction and in an attempt to beat fellow geeks to see who can post to social media first, become a real hazard at the scene of the incident. Are we going to have to create and manage a photo opportunity corral so that the social media reporters can gather their 30 second claim to fame? Not that we want traffic to speed through a controlled scene; we do want them to keep moving and to pay attention to the vehicle in front of them.
The incident scene can be hectic enough with all the pretty colored lights, responders walking in and out of traffic, mangled vehicles, or burning buildings. How many times have drivers driven over a charged hose supply line? Many times is the answer! The other issue is that at the scene of large incidents, there may be additional apparatus reporting to the scene, but they can’t get through the traffic or worse – they may not be able to position themselves where they need to be because someone is trying to get the photo shot that will result in the most "likes."
What does the fire service need to do? We need to get to the media to make this an issue and we need to start PSAs to raise awareness of the problem. "Slow down, pay attention, and get out of the way" needs to be the message. It’s a traffic management issue, and it creates a hazard for the first responders on the scene and those who are coming to the scene to assist.
