Pa. Chief Says Speed Can Be an Issue With Firefighters

Jan. 22--Volunteer firefighters can receive more than 1,000 hours of training before going out on a call. Those intensive sessions include everything from fire drills to equipment management to vehicle rescue.

But in the heat of the moment, things happen.

Speeding to an emergency scene has been an issue in every department, said United Hook & Ladder Fire Co. No. 33 Chief Steve Rabine.

"If a fire chief says it's not a problem," Rabine said, "he's a liar."

Rabine said firefighters -- especially young ones -- do have that sense of urgency to respond to a scene right away.

Brandon Little, 19, was killed last Wednesday night on Kinneman Road, near Abbottstown, while responding to a garage fire on Berlin Road. Little had been a volunteer firefighter for United Hook & Ladder for two years.

On Wednesday night, after Little's crash, Eastern Adams Regional Police Chief Robert Then said excessive speed might have caused Little to lose control of the Jeep Grand Cherokee he was driving. Police believe Little wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

Rabine stressed what exactly caused Little's accident is still under investigation.

Still he acknowledged, as soon as a call comes in emotions can sometimes get the best of firefighters. The adrenaline is pumping. And control doesn't come easy in a situation like that.

The fire department's insurance carrier does provide videos and power point slideshows that show statistics of car crashes by

emergency responders, but there's not that much training going on in actual vehicles -- especially private ones.

"You tell them slow down, breathe," Rabine said. "But sometimes they just want to go, go, go."

Safety training

When volunteer firefighters receive training in Adams County, Director of Emergency Services John Eline said they take classes dealing with personal safety.

But although there is a class on emergency vehicle operations that teaches vehicle safety, Eline said it is only mandatory for those wishing to drive emergency vehicles. Those who drive their personal vehicles to calls do not have to take the class.

"(But) all the fire departments in the county stress no speeding," Eline said. "Don't break the laws."

Apart from the training that the insurance company provided on driving, Rabine said he doesn't think Little received any other driving lessons, unless they were taken privately.

That's an issue all over the country, said Rabine, who works for an insurance company. Emergency personnel feel that urgency -- need -- when receiving a call to go and help. And accidents involving emergency responders happen frequently.

Rabine said he stresses to his staff that they must abide by the law. They need to obey the speed limit. They know they must wear a seatbelt. And if they do receive a speeding ticket, they will pay for it on their own.

But it's tough to enforce that in an emergency. Especially in a private vehicle, when no one else is there to monitor.

Six killed since 2000

Little was the sixth Pennsylvania volunteer firefighter who has been killed in a vehicle accident while on duty since 2000, according to state fire commissioner Edward Mann.

Those six volunteer firefighters -- all less than 25 years old -- were operating private vehicles, not fire trucks.

It's difficult to say if speeding has been the cause of all accidents, Mann said, but in most of them, it has at least been a factor.

In this area, the last firefighter before Little killed in the line of duty was Adam Cole in 2007. Cole, 24, was a firefighter with Buchanan Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Orrtanna.

While on his way to a blaze, Cole failed to negotiate a curve and lost control of his car on Route 234 in Franklin Township, police said at the time. He was not wearing a seatbelt, police said.

"All we can continue to do is deliver the message to fire service that while there is a sense of urgency, we need to be cautious," Mann said.

Time to grieve

Rabine said it's not the appropriate time for him to talk to his firefighters about these driving issues. His department has been grieving for Little. And he's not going to give lessons when grown men are crying.

The chief said perhaps in a couple of months he will discuss driving issues with the department.

But for now, he's is going to let them grieve. It hasn't been an easy couple of days, Rabine said, but there has been counseling available.

Mann said he and members of his staff have been talking to Little's department since the night the young man died. A memorial flag -- commonly referred to as the Firefighter's Memorial Flag -- has also been given to Little's department.

United Hook & Ladder will have the flag for five days after Little's funeral.

But even after that, when the flag is taken down, a fire department will remember a young man who dreamed of becoming a full-time firefighter.

"It's tragic," Mann said. "A family has lost a son. A fire department has lost a brother. And the commonwealth has lost a citizen who wanted to do nothing but serve his community."

Copyright 2012 - The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pa.