Accidents > An accdident is defined as:
Ac·ci·dent
sɪnoun
1. An undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap: automobile accidents.
2. Law . such a happening resulting in injury that is in no way the fault of the injured person for which compensation or indemnity is legally sought.
3. Any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause.
4. Chance; fortune; luck: I was there by accident.
5. A fortuitous circumstance, quality, or characteristic: an accident of birth.
Why do accidents happen?
What type of accident are we discussing you may ask? Any accident is the result of NOT PAYING ATTENTION, TRAVELING TOO FAST FOR ROAD CONDITIONS, DIREGARDING SAFETY REGULATIONS, DISREGARDING/REMOVING SAFE GUARDS, RUSHING TO COMPLETE A JOB. Finally an accident can happen by a result of not being about what you may/might have done. But it is attributed to failure of the machine you might be operating. Failure of a tire, failure of something that you have no control over or operations.
So how can we be more safe to prevent an accident?
Prevetion is a key to helping you stay safe. So how do you be more PRO ACTIVE to prevent an accident? Being Pro Active in safety to prevent an accident is foremost. All accidents are preventable. Ask yourself these questions?
> Did you get enough rest?
> Did you follow too closely?
> Did you do a proper pre trip inspection?
> Did you preform a proper inspection of the equipment prior to operation of the energized equipment?
> Did you remove the safe guards?
The list is endless regarding questions you can ask yourself and others how to be PRO ACTIVE regarding prevention of accidents. These are a few to name, but your safety department and or upper management will have the questions to ask.
Safety Equipment, Do you have the proper Fire Extinguisher in your vehicle?
In the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Book Section 393 of the manul
Fire Extinguisher
Fire extinguishers must be securely mounted and readily accessible for use. Each extinguisher must have a gauge or other indicator that shows whether the extinguisher is fully charged, and a label showing its Underwriters' Laboratories (UL) rating.
The fire extinguisher(s) must meet one of the following standards:
The fire extinguisher(s) must meet one of the following standards:
Well there is a problem that needs to addressed with this regulation. The problem is that the fire extinguisher rating is not the right class for normal combustibles such as paints, plastic, carpet, brake and brake lines. The current regulations call for the above fire extinguisher in the minimal ratings. Become familiar with your fire extinguisher and what the extinguisher will put out.
Are you familiar with the LETTERS on the Fire Extinguisher? A, B, C, D, E
What does the letters mean too you?
Fire Extinguisher Ratings
 | Class A Extinguishers will put out fires in ordinary combustibles, such as wood and paper. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher refers to the amount of water the fire extinguisher holds and the amount of fire it will extinguish. |  |
|---|---|---|
 | Class B Extinguishers should be used on fires involving flammable liquids, such as grease, gasoline, oil, etc. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher states the approximate number of square feet of a flammable liquid fire that a non-expert person can expect to extinguish. |  |
 | Class C Extinguishers are suitable for use on electrically energized fires. This class of fire extinguishers does not have a numerical rating. The presence of the letter “C” indicates that the extinguishing agent is non-conductive. |  |
| Class D Extinguishers are designed for use on flammable metals and are often specific for the type of metal in question. There is no picture designator for Class D extinguishers. These extinguishers generally have no rating nor are they given a multi-purpose rating for use on other types of fires. |  |
So we ask why does the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration allow less standards to be applied to Commercial Motor Vehicles regarding not having the proper Fire Extinguisher be implemented in the Commercial Motor Vehicles, School Bus and Motor Coaches?
Q: Why is this being allowed?
implented for a flammible liquid. But th disregard the other flammable ordianry combustables such as carpet, clothing, paints, brake linings, hoses, etc. They forget that the common fibers in the seats/seat cushions and carpet put off Hyrdocynide /Hydrogen Chloride Gas! This can and will kill you instantly!
Q: So how do we make sure that the right fire extinguisher is equipped on all Commercial Motor Vehicles, School Bus and Motor Coaches?
A: Easy, teach, educate, train and follow up with a visiual inspection. This is where Safety Training comes into play. If you are a Fire Inspector and you have business in your response area that you inspect; it is your job to inspect these fire extinguisher as well as the ones in the business.
If you are Business Owner/Operator it is your responsibality to have your staff do daily checks as well as management do a monthly check. When your yearly check from the Fire Extinguisher Service Company does its yearly inspection these extinguisher are to be done as well.
Q: What if the vehicle is not here on the day the yearly inspection is done?
A: It is simple if it is less then 45 days from yearly service/inspection pull it off the vehicle and replace it with one that has already been done. Stagger the extinguisher so that all of them are not due service/inspection at the same time. Do half at 6 months that other half at 6 months. So this way your covered. Most service/inspections compaines will lease or have a fire extinguisher for use when yours is being serviced, or hydrostatic inspected.
I have attached a link to an article that is well worth the read. A truck driver was horriably killed in a traffice accident as the bystanders, State Police were unable to stop the fire by using the fire extinguishers in the commercial motor vehicles because current federal regualtions only state a minimum of a 5BC fire extinguisher must be equipped on the above mentioned motor vehicles.
A 5BC fire extinguisher can come in as small as 1 pound fire extinguisher. How long will that last? A quick blast and its gone!
So as a Fire Professional why are you not telling the Business Owner/Operators of Tractor Trailer Operations, School Bus and or Motor Coaches not told of the danger of not having a CLASS ABC and a Minimum of at least 10 pound in the truck, bus, motor coach? At least a 20 pound fire extinguisher on all trailers carrying Hazmat Liquids, Flammable Liquids. On a van trailers (dry/reefer) that carries HAZMAT a minimum of a 10 pound dry chemical fire extinguisher should be mounted to these trailers and accessible for rapid deployment for use in case of a fire.
The link to the news story regarding the horrific accident in Indiana (Putnam County) 18 August 2011
http://tribstar.com/news/x1770584610/Deadly-I-70-crash-snarls-traffic
We need to address this problem which is becoming an utmost problem and needs to be addressed immediately first and foremost. This can and will save future lives in case of an accident.
I hope this addressed a life safety problems in the Commercial Motor Vehicle/Motor Coach sitting including school bus. I will post another BLOG to address Fire Extinguisher Training with these industries that I have refereed too.
Safety First and Foremost,
Roy
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