May 17, 2003

Gridlock!

       They Scream down the suicide lane of State Road 135, lights flashing and sirens blaring at motorists to get out of the way.  Every morning, noon and night it seems like more cars hurry through White River Township.  In recent weeks, fire engines have been stuck on S.R. 135, along with commuter traffic, as calls for emergency help stack up, firefighters say.  Emergency crews from Station 52, located at Fairview Road and S.R. 135, have to call on other stations, and even other departments, for help.  It's not uncommon for S.R. 135 to be backed up from Fry Road to Olive Branch Road, firefighters say.  Each month, more cars are packed onto State Road 135 and the narrower east-west roads in the township.  The increase in population and traffic means the fire department is called on more often for help and engines have to maneuver through increased traffic.  They say ongoing and future road construction will only worsen that situation.  "It's going to be frustrating," said Joel Thacker, Battalion Chief for the White River Township Fire Department.  "That's growth."  Firefighters fear it's taking them longer than usual to respond when called for emergency help.  If it takes emergency workers and equipment longer than four minutes to reach a vehicle accident or ill person, the chances are less that a seriously ill person will make a full recovery.  A Daily Journal analysis of the fire department's response times during the past two weeks - when road construction on Smith Valley Road has cut off normal routes - and from the same time period in 2002 revealed that emergency crews are responding just as quickly as they did a year ago.  Although the department is receiving more calls fro help that it did last spring, the median response time for calls received during a two-week period in early May was five minutes in 2002 and 2003.  Firefighters hurry to get to the scene of an accident or ill person within four minutes of the call for help.  That goal is based on recommendations from the National Fire Protection Association, what the community says is acceptable, and medical needs of patients in cardiac arrest.  According to the Daily Journal's examination of response times:  1) Victims or patients waited longer than four minutes for firefighter's arrival during 47 percent of the emergency calls during the two-week period examined in 2002.  2) In the past two weeks, firefighters hit their four-minute goal on 55 percent of the department's runs.  3) Crews from Station 52 respond on twice as many calls for help as firefighters at other stations.  Station 52 covers a triangular area in northeastern White River Township roughly bordered by S.R. 135, County Line road, Honey Creek Road and Stones Crossing Road.  Just as motorists get upset and impatient in backed-up traffic, those behind the wheel of fire engines can experience an increase in blood pressure and heart rate and feel like it's taking forever to arrive on-scene, Thacker said.  "We have to take a deep breath," Thacker said.  Just as firefighters hope that drivers stay calm and focused when they see emergency equipment approaching, emergency equipment chauffeurs are told the same thing.  That's hard when the department's drivers hear about a patient in cardiac arrest, an accident victim who is seriously injured, or fire raging through a home.  Equipment drivers, also called engineers, also are likely thinking about what their duties will be once the crew arrives.  The department's drivers have to stay focused on getting emergency crews to the scene in a reasonable amount of time.  They also have to worry about transporting the crews safely and not leaving a trail of accidents as a fire truck passes through, Thacker said.  The closure of Smith Valley Road has cut a major east-west roadway for motorists and emergency equipment through the township.  On Monday, the closure of the east side of the intersection of County Road 144 and State Road 37 is expected to dump more traffic into northern White River Township.  "It's frustrating at times," Thacker said.  "Smith Valley is a main thoroughfare."  As normal routes are closed because of road construction, more traffic is spilling onto Fairview, County Line, Olive Branch, and Stones Crossing roads.  Many of those roadways don't have center turn lanes or extra space on the side of the roads for drivers to pull over.  Cars stack up side by side.  "There's nowhere for anybody to go," said Eric Brown, Division Chief for the White River Township Fire Department.  Motorists hurry to look for a driveway or side street as a fire engine approaches, Brown said.  But with the blaring air conditioners and car stereos, many aren't aware of the emergency equipment until it's right behind them.  Then, some drivers have taken out mailboxes or bailed into yards.  The fire department doesn't encourage that, Brown said.  "We're still begging for the right-of-way," he said.  "During the construction phase, we're just begging more than usual."  All of the department's fire trucks are equipped with an Opticom system, which allows police and fire traffic to operate traffic signals with a remote for quicker, safer emergency traffic.  but only on stoplight, at State Road 37 and Fairview Road is equipped to receive the signals from fire engines.  The department paid for that technology.  To equip all stoplights in the fire protection district with the Opticom system would cost $20,000.  The fire department has applied for grant money in the past to cover the cost, but was not successful.  (reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

 

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