Slow down, Manitoba fire chief says after firefighter hit at crash scene
Firefighter suffered minor injuries in Nov. 6 incident
A Manitoba firefighter is recovering from injuries after he was hit by a car while working at the scene of a rollover earlier this month near Brandon.
Kelly Crosson, fire chief of Whitehead Fire Department, based in Alexander, Man., said it happened Nov. 6 on the Trans-Canada Highway. Roads were icy, he said, and emergency crews were tending to the rollover, one of several incidents they responded to that day.
"One of our members was standing on the side of our truck getting some tools out. Out of nowhere, this car came in sideways, hitting the back of our fire truck, sending him into the ditch," said Crosson, who has been chief of the Whitehead fire department for about eight years.
It's a paid on-call department, meaning members respond to the fire hall from work or home when a call comes in.
Crosson said the firefighter escaped with just minor injures and is healing at home. He hopes the incident serves as a reminder to drivers to slow down and move over when they see emergency crews working at the side of the road, in light of other recent incidents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
"This isn't the first incident that we've had," he said. "Many times we've had to go diving off the highway. It's not like we're invisible out there. We've got flashing lights, big red trucks and the the traffic fails to slow down."
"We are always concerned about the highway," Crosson said.
RCMP said the crash firefighters were tending to at the time was one of just several that occurred that day on Highway 1 west of Brandon.
"A vehicle heading westbound attempted to pass four vehicles which had slowed for the emergency vehicles and ended up colliding into the rear of the fire truck," RCMP Sgt. Paul Manigre told CBC News in an email.
1st of 3 recent incidents
Just over a week later, an RCMP vehicle was hit by a passing vehicle near Elie, Man.
At the time, RCMP said officers were attending to an impaired driving complaint, when a vehicle hit one RCMP vehicle, pushing it into another. The force of the collision caused the vehicle to roll over.
RCMP said the 82-year-old man was not injured and charges under the Highway Traffic Act were pending.
A week after that crash, a firefighter from Rosetown, Sask., died after being hit by a passing truck while responding to a two-vehicle crash near the community.
The law requires anyone who sees an emergency vehicle with their lights activated on the side of the road, including tow trucks, to slow down to 60 km/h if the posted limit is 80 km/h or higher, or slow down to 40 if the posted limit is less than 80. Drivers are also required to move into the farthest lane away from the emergency vehicles, if safe to do so.
'Way too often'
Brad Yochim, president of the Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs and chief of the Wallace District Fire Department in Virden, said he isn't sure what the solution is.
"Unfortunately it happens way too often," he told CBC News. "We're seeing people just not paying attention to what's going on."
Yochim said his department has had many close calls. He was hit by a passing vehicle in January 2015.
"We're on the highways every day," he said. "For someone to lose their life doing what they volunteer to do and to help out total strangers is ridiculous."
In the incident when he was hit, Yochim said the driver was also fined. He said higher fines may be needed, but isn't convinced they will work.
"We're just hoping that people will get it eventually," he said. "You just shake your head and go, 'Really, what are these people doing out there?'"
Slow down
Crosson said the majority of his fire department's calls are on Highway 1 and in usually less-than-ideal conditions.
"My message is to slow down," he said. "We're out there at the mercy of drivers who are coming though our incident.
"We do our best. We put people out trying to stop traffic, trying to slow them down."
He wants people to know what it's like working on the side of the road.
"It can be really scary," Crosson said. "When you're standing there, 60 km/h still feels pretty fast."
"Sometimes they see you, they hit the brakes and their trailers are sliding sideways down the highway," he added. "You just run into the ditch and hope to hell that the trailer isn't going to hit you on the way by."
Crosson said the injured firefighter will likely be off for a while yet. RCMP said the driver, a 21-year-old man from Brandon, was charged with imprudent driving, which carriers a fine of $203, and for failing to move to farthest lane for emergency vehicle, a $298 fine.
"Just try slow it down a notch," he said.
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