Creating a team approach to highway safety is one of the primary goals of Respondersafety.com. A number of us in the institute have met with political figures, members of the fire service, members of the law enforcement community, and the EMS community. We agreed early on that it would be in our common interest to work together.

While my associates and I have adopted this is a laudable goal, it is one that is apparently only working at the highest theoretical levels. I have received a number of fairly interesting emails recently that tell me we are all not working from a common script at the state, county, and local levels.

In each instance, the lack of coordination became quickly obvious to me. However, since my contacts were strictly fire service, they portray a particular point of view. I tell you that in hopes that those of you in the police and EMS world will begin to share your experiences with me.

One message that stands out in my mind came from a member of a local volunteer fire department in a Middle Atlantic state. He stated that his fire department is charged with providing fire and rescue services for a sizeable stretch of a major Interstate highway.

His primary complaint to me was that the state police were more concerned with keeping the traffic moving than in protecting the fire department as they work to handle highway emergencies. His message indicated that on more than one occasion, he and his associates were threatened with arrest if they failed to obey the law enforcement officer in charge. He bemoaned the fact that the state police did not want to hear what the fire chief and his troops had to say.

This individual was deeply concerned that one of his associates would pay a fatal penalty for the police agencies effort's to keep the traffic moving. I would suggest that this type of a situation cries out for a major effort at coordinating how scene safety is to be handled. This person did not want to take command. This person did not even want to get into a battle with the police. He merely wanted the safety of his personnel to have a higher operational priority than the movement of traffic.

I have to agree with this person. During my time as a battalion commander in Newark, New Jersey, I was often called upon to supervise fire and rescue operations on the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, or any of the Interstates that traversed the city.

During my time as a field chief, I often got into 'disagreements' with members of the New Jersey State Police. I frequently used our apparatus to block the scene of a major motor vehicle incident. I did not want to explain to any man's widow that de died keeping a lane of traffic open for the state police.

More than once I was threatened with some form of 'retribution' for failure to follow the dictates of the trooper on scene. When the trooper on scene started to raise his voice to me, my request was usually quite simple. It was also politely forceful in each instance. I would request that the trooper call his Sergeant, Lieutenant, or Captain to the scene.

If he refused, I simply advised my troops to saddle up and head on home. When he asked me what he was supposed to do, my answer was simple. I advised him that since he would not allow me to deploy my forces in a safe manner, he could do whatever he felt he had to do; but that he would be doing it without me.

This usually worked. We would go back to work in a safe manner, either very quickly, or after I worked out the details with the superior officer. I would then avoid commuting home on whatever highway we happened to have been working upon. No sense pushing my luck. But this was never a good way to operate.

The City of Newark was proactive in the area of interagency operations. Under the administration of Mayor Sharpe James, the city business administrator was directed to cause the development of a city emergency management committee. This was a most fortunate event for us all. The Mayor wanted his emergency operations to flow in an effective and efficient manner.

The committee met every month. It involved members of local, county, and state government who responded to emergencies in the Newark area. It also brought members of the private sector into the equation. Charitable service organizations such as the Salvation Army and Red Cross also participated.

We bonded quite well. When something demanded the activation of the city's combined emergency forces, we worked together much better because of the bonds which we had developed during our continual planning efforts, and the periodic exercises that were held. We were working with friends and not strangers.

The New Jersey State Police were and are active participants in the continuing operation of this group. When problems would arise out on the tolls roads and interstate highways, we were able to deal with the issues on a friendly basis. Procedures were developed that specified how our forces were to be deployed, and how we were to interact.

Now I don't want you to think that all is right with the world. Personnel are frequently transferred into the area by the State Police, and occasional problems occur with the new personnel. But since the relationships at the supervisory level are friendly, matters do not get out of hand, on either side.

I would suggest that this local emergency planning committee concept, as developed in Newark, is a good thing to emulate. Sit down around a friendly table, perhaps with some milk and cookies, and discuss how you intend to operate on the highways of your area. Maybe you do not have to meet on a monthly basis, but I would suggest that no more than three months should pass between meetings.

Some of the things you can look at are:

• Who will be the incident commander at a fire incident on the highways?
• Who will be the incident commander at a rescue incident?
• Who will be the incident commander at a motor vehicle accident?

These are just a few of the incidents where the existence of established procedures would help to create smooth running operations. It would be up to you and your associates to determine the safety related issues for each type of incident that might be envisioned.

Once you have drafted the procedures, write them down, distribute them to all concerned, and drill on them periodically. Revise them as experience and training dictate. And be sure to use them every time you roll out onto the highways of your area.

You can work to cooperate with your associates. This is good. Or you can choose to sit in opposing forts and throw rocks at everyone else. I leave the choice to you as to which of these is the modern approach to highway safety.