Near Miss Incident - Wildland Fire
Near Miss Incident - Wildland Fire
Near Miss Incident - Wildland Fire
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GREENSHEETVENTURACOUNTYFIREPROTECTIONDISTRICTInformationalSummaryReportofSeriousVCFDInjuries,Illnesses,Accidentsand<strong>Near</strong>-<strong>Miss</strong><strong>Incident</strong>s<strong>Near</strong><strong>Miss</strong><strong>Incident</strong>–Trainversus<strong>Fire</strong>fighterJuly30,2012River<strong>Incident</strong><strong>Incident</strong>#12-0044196
SUMMARYOnMondayJuly30 th ,2012at1715hrswhilefightingawildlandfireinthemiddleoftheSantaClaraRiverbed,afirefighterwasnearlyhitbyatrainonarailwaythathadthoughttohavebeenclosedtoallrailtraffic.CONDITIONSLocation: SantaClaraRiverRailwayBridgebetweenthecitiesofVentura(VEN)andOxnard(OXD),paralleltoandjustsouthofHwy101,accesswasfromVenturaRd,cityofOxnard. JurisdictionwasVenturaCounty<strong>Fire</strong>Department(VNC).Weather:Overcastdaywithatemperatureof65degreesatthetimeoftheincident.WindswerefromtheWestat12mph.Therelativehumidityreadingwas78%.AllweatherinformationwasobtainedthroughtheNOAAwebsite.SEQUENCEOFEVENTSOnJuly30,2012at1715hrs,OXDEngine64andVNCMedicEngine51respondedtoavegetationfirereportedintheriverbottomatHwy101andVenturaRoad. OXDE64reportedafireinthemiddleoftheSantaClaraRiverbottominheavybrushandrequestedafirstalarmbrushresponse. VNCME51andOXDE64extendedhoselinestothefireintheriverbottomapproximately500’fromtheroad. At1725hrs,VNC<strong>Fire</strong>CommunicationsCenter(FCC)contactedUnionPacificforrailwayclosureatHwy101andVenturaRd. At1731hrs,UnionPacificgaveconfirmationofrailwayclosurestating“Protectionisinplace”andaskedtobeadvisedwhenclosurecouldbelifted. OXDBattalion61arrivedonsceneandtookcommand.At1736hrs,OXDB61contactedFCCtoshutdownrailwayandalsorequestedarailwayrepresentativetoinspectthetrackforpossibledamage. OXDB61advisedFCC,incidentwasincountyjurisdiction.
At1738hrs,FCCre-contactedUnionPacifictorespondarepresentativetoassesspossiblefiredamagetothetrestlebridge. AtthissametimeVNCCopter6begansnorkelingoperationsandwasmakinglowandslowdropstopinpointthewaterovertheburningtrestlebridge. At1749hrs,VNCBattalion5arrivedonsceneandassumedcommand. VNCB5assignedOXDB61toOperations. OXDB61walkedthetrestlebridgetogetaviewofthefireandassessthepotentialdamage/threattothebridgeitselfwhichhadbeenonfire,VNCCopter6hadbeendroppingwateratthislocation.OXDB61arrivedattheareaabovethefireandwasapproximately500ft.tothewestofVenturaRoad. Heidentifiedatrainonthetrackseastofhislocationanditappearedtohimthetrainhadstoppedatthatlocation. Hegaveasecondlookatthetrainandidentifieditasatrainpossiblymovingslowly. At1807hrs,OXDB61radioedtheIConthecommandchannelforconfirmationthatthetrackswereshutdown,hethenrecognizedthetrainwasmovingatahighrateofspeedandstartedtowavehisarmsinanattempttostopthetrain. OXDB61thenmadeadecisiontomovetowardthetraintoanopenalcovealongsidethetracksforsafety. Helaiddownandheldontoafencepostasthetrainpassed.VNCCopter6wasreturningfromasnorkelingoperationatthatsametimeandwasapproachingthescenefromthenortheast. Duringtheirapproach,thecrewfromCopter6spottedOXDB61onthetrackswavinghisarms.VNCCopter6assumedOXDB61wasflaggingdownenginecrewseastofhislocation. SincetheaerialwaterdropareawasoccupiedbyOXDB61,VNCCopter6decidedtomakeapasstogetaclearviewonthedroplocation. ShortlyafterVNCCopter6crossedthetracks,theynoticedanorthbound“Amtrak”trainpassthroughatahighrateofspeed,theyquicklycircledbacktolocateOXDB61andspottedhimlyingalongsidethetracks.OXDB61stoodupandVNCCopter6relayedviaradiothathewasok.At1809hrs,northboundMetrolinkstoppedonthetracksandbelievedtheyhadhitafirefighter.VENBattalion10contactedFCCtorelaythatallfirepersonnelwerefineandtopasstheinformationalongtoMetrolink.
INJURIES/DAMAGESNoinjurieswerereported. Nodamagewasreported.SAFETYISSUESFORREVIEW1. Collaborationbetweenrailwayandemergencyservicesneedstooccurtoensurepropersafetymeasuresarefollowedandconfirmationoftheclosureattheproperlocationisgiven.2. Continuouslyevaluatetheoperationalneedtoworkonornearanyrailwayarea.3. Whenworkingonornearanyrailwaywhereegressislimited,lookoutsshouldbepostedinbothdirectionsfromtheincidenttoallowsufficienttimetocommunicateanyoncomingtraffic. Theyshouldremaininplaceuntilconfirmationofclosureisgivenbyarailwayrepresentative.4. Allpoliciesandproceduresforrailwayincidentsshouldberoutinelyreviewedandupdated.5. Railwaylinesandassociatedmilemarkersshouldbeincorporatedintoallcurrentmappingprograms.6. Policiesandtrainingproceduresfor911DispatchCentersshouldbeupdatedregardingrailwayshutdown.
INCIDENTALISSUESOnJuly29,2012,asimilarwildlandfirehadoccurredafewmilestothenorthlocatedatHwy101andtheVenturaRiverbed,arailwayshutdownwasimplementedatthattimewithsuccess.VNCCopter6statedthatifOXDB61wasnotoverthedroparea,theywouldhavecomeintomakealowandslowdropoverthebridgestructure.Seeimage#2.Thispotentiallycouldhaveputtheminthepathwayoftheincomingtrain.
Approximate<strong>Fire</strong> Extent<strong>Fire</strong>fighterRefuge LocationOn RR BridgeRiver <strong>Incident</strong>SARTVNC 12-0044196Date/Time:20120730, 17:14:04 hrsImage 1Site MapNorthbound Metrolink TrainHose Lay (approx. 500ft)N Ventura RoadVCFD ApparatusOxnard City or Ventura CityApparatusApparatus parked on Ventura Rd1) VCFD Investigator2) VCFD Crew Supervisor3) VCFD Crew Transport4) VCFD ME515) Oxnard City Engine 646) Ventura City Battalion 107) VCFD Battalion 58) Oxnard City Battalion 619) Oxnard City Battalion 62789654123R0 50 100 FeetVCFPD Planning andTechnologyMap: VCFPD GIS20120814_River_<strong>Incident</strong>_SART_I1_SiteMap.mxdU
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