Technical Rescue: Keys to Fire Department Coordination with Towing Companies for Rescues

No one else can help … ” In the fire service, we routinely respond to life-threatening incidents where there’s no one else who can fix the problem. However, many times, even the best-equipped fire departments encounter situations that exceed their knowledge, skills, capabilities and/or equipment.

A motor vehicle accident that involves heavy vehicles is an instance where rescue capabilities are exceeded and external partners, such as towing companies, are essential to successful incident mitigation. The equipment, capabilities, knowledge and skills that are possessed by heavy wrecker operators can serve as a force multiplier on complex incidents to achieve the best chance of success when integrated into the rescue operation.

Building relationships

Whether your department has the luxury of having multiple local towing companies that have heavy wreckers or has only one such agency in the immediate area, reach out to these companies before an incident occurs. You can start by visiting the company’s office to introduce yourself and explain that you wish to do some joint training to better acquaint both parties with the capabilities of the other. In the author’s experience, a tow company never has turned down the opportunity to work with its local fire department, and in almost every case, it was excited to train together.

Training can start with something as simple as a “show and tell,” where the tow company exhibits the equipment that it has and, perhaps, demonstrates its capabilities. Although some of the equipment that’s carried on heavy wreckers, such as winches, rigging and air lifting bags, isn’t foreign to most firefighters, many firefighters receive only minimal formal training on the equipment’s proper use, although they might have limited experience with it from off-roading or farming.

Because towing companies use this equipment daily, they often can provide department personnel not only with training on the proper use of such equipment but also tips and tricks that they picked up over the course of their operation. Much like the fire service, experience matters in towing, and every towing or recovery job to which the towing company responds adds to its mental slide tray that it can refer to when it’s faced with a novel, complex rescue scenario.

If your department is looking to upgrade or purchase new rigging equipment, such as chains, binders, slings or shackles, ask the towing company where it purchases its equipment, what size and grade chains that it uses and what it recommends for your needs. Further, local suppliers of such equipment often are more than happy to work with fire departments and not only can provide the equipment but also training to firefighters who use it.

Request and response

Like any mutual-aid request that’s made, responders shouldn’t hesitate to call for a towing company to respond to incidents that involve heavy vehicles or other technical rescue circumstances, such as building collapses, where the towing company’s unique capabilities and a tow truck operator’s experience can have a tremendous positive effect on the eventual outcome of the incident.

In some jurisdictions, firefighters can request a particular towing company to be dispatched to an incident and specify what resources they need. In other areas, tow requests must be made via the police department, and the towing company that’s contacted is based on a preestablished rotation. This model often presents challenges for rescuers who expect to receive assistance from a heavy towing company, such as a rotator, only for a flatbed tow truck to arrive.

When requesting towing company assistance, the incident commander (IC) should be as specific as possible and mention key words, such as “heavy wrecker,” “rotator,” “heavy vehicle” or “semitrailer accident,” to ensure that the proper resources are received.

It’s highly recommended to have the fire department dispatcher provide the towing company with the cellphone number of someone who is on scene who can give the tow truck operator detailed information on the particular situation rescuers need help with.
In some jurisdictions, local or state law enforcement might provide an escort for a heavy wrecker to reduce response time. Speak to law enforcement partners to see whether that they are willing to do this if needed. If so, involve them in training sessions, so all who are involved understand how an escort would take place.

While the tow truck is en route, try to clear the scene as much as possible, so the vehicle can approach and park where it can be utilized best. Even though the operator has the final say on the best location to set up, so the vehicle’s capabilities can be maximized, the knowledge and experience that’s developed during joint training can provide rescuers with a basic knowledge of how the operator might prefer to set up for a given scenario.

If needed, the rescue group supervisor should request that the IC have apparatus, personnel, hoselines and equipment moved to facilitate the proper positioning of the tow truck immediately on its arrival.

Once the vehicle arrives, the rescue group supervisor should meet face to face with the vehicle operator to explain the situation, what crews accomplished to that point and what the IC needs the vehicle to do to mitigate the problem at hand. Take the operator for a quick 360 of the scene to provide the individual with the situational awareness that’s needed to decide on how best to help to effect the rescue.

Communication

Because most towing companies don’t have the capability to talk over fire department radio channels, a conscious effort must be made to ensure clear and timely communication between rescuers and the tow truck operator: Much like any other emergency to which a fire department responds, communication often makes or breaks an incident. On a relatively small scene, such as a rear underride where a passenger vehicle is buried beneath the rear of a heavy vehicle, face-to-face communication usually is sufficient. On a larger scene, such as a large pileup on an expressway or a vehicle down a large embankment, face-to-face communication might not be possible.

On a larger scene, the rescue group supervisor should consider assigning a firefighter who has a portable radio to the tow truck operator. In a situation in which available staffing is scarce, rescuers might decide to give the tow truck operator a department radio to use. If this tactic is employed, rescuers should ensure that the operator knows what channel to use (consider locking the radio channel, if possible) and to whom to speak.

Another form of communication that might prove beneficial when working with a towing company is crane hand signals. Although not all tow companies use hand signals, many rotator operators do, and hand signals often prove vital in the loud, hectic environment that’s found at a complex rescue incident. Discuss this ahead of time, including during joint training with the towing company, so all who are involved are on the same page.

Some departments use certain crane signals to indicate needed movement of aerial ladders, but many don’t. Either way, having a cheat sheet for personnel to use on scene during times of high stress might prove beneficial. Some departments that made laminated cards that have signals on them keep the cards in the glovebox of their apparatus or taped to a compartment door.

Case studies

In December 2022, a 51-vehicle pileup during blizzard conditions on the Ohio Turnpike claimed the life of four people and injured 73. Heavy wreckers proved vital in multiple rescues. None was more essential than a rotator that parked on an overpass that lifted and suspended a semitrailer cab. With this assistance, rescuers accessed multiple patients who were pinned in a van that had underrode the rear of the semitrailer before the cab of another semitrailer came to rest on the portion of the van that stuck out from beneath the trailer. Faced with extreme cold, high winds and radio interoperability issues, rescuers nevertheless worked seamlessly with the towing company to position the rotator on the overpass above the van. After ensuring that the overpass could support the weight of the rotator and its load, rescuers worked with the rotator operator to rig and lift the semitrailer cab, so tunneling operations could begin. This collaboration proved essential to saving the life of two people who were pinned for at least four hours.

Another instance where collaboration between a fire department and a towing company saved a life occurred in April 2024. A front-discharge mixer that carried 10 yards of concrete was forced off of the road and into a ditch. The collision broke the mixer drum free from its mounts. The mixer drum slid forward, crushed the cab and pinned the driver inside. While en route, the captain of the first-due engine requested a heavy wrecker to the scene. Once on scene and in conjunction with rescuers who were using air chisels, reciprocating saws and battery-powered hydraulic tools, the tow truck operator lifted the heavy steel drum pedestal off of the cab and then peeled the stainless-steel cab up and away from the driver, who was treated and released from a local trauma center.

Best odds for victim survival

A vital part of being a good rescuer is understanding your limitations and knowing who you can call for help when faced with a scenario that challenges your abilities. Rescuers shouldn’t hesitate to call for help, whether from another department or an external partner, such as a towing company. As every extrication is really an EMS run with complicating factors, ego shouldn’t interfere with “the golden hour.” By developing relationships and training with towing companies, departments can provide the best chance for survival to trapped victims.

Extended Reach Tips

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Rescue Tools

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Strut

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Battery-Powered Extrication Tools

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