mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Any stories to tell on yourself or your cohorts involving snow and ice? Does your service have any interesting measures to operate, or to shut down, in snow and ice conditions?
Your EMS snow stories and precautions.
- Thread starter mycrofft
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Unlike Med Flights where percieved adverse conditions can shut them down, the Ambulances in my area, to the best of my knowledge, haven't not responded due to snow.
Half the time they are responding to MVA's caused by the weather in the first place.
Scene safety is tougher when ice is involved.
Half the time they are responding to MVA's caused by the weather in the first place.
Scene safety is tougher when ice is involved.
abckidsmom
Dances with Patients
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When our leadership declares the inclimate weather policy is in effect, we don't respond to traffic accidents without confirmed injuries. In deep snow, we respond with a brush truck to every call, to access the back roads and the driveways.
CritterNurse
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Some of the firemen and EMT's have their own plows, so its not unheard of for one of them to drive their plow before the ambulance to make sure the ambulance can get down some of the less-well-maintained roads during snowstorms.
As far as myself, I've slipped on ice on scene before, so I went out and bought a pair of slip-on cleats that I can keep in my jacket pocket to avoid that in the future.
As far as myself, I've slipped on ice on scene before, so I went out and bought a pair of slip-on cleats that I can keep in my jacket pocket to avoid that in the future.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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I once found myself driving through front yards in a wheelchair van.
Three percent grade downhill, gutter was full of frozen snirt and ice, came out to the van and when I started to pull away it slid up over the curb and mow strip and onto the lawns. Went about one hundred feet before I could regain the street, and then it was about two hundred feet shy of a cliff down to the track by the Missouri. Company name in nice big orange and white letters too....
Three percent grade downhill, gutter was full of frozen snirt and ice, came out to the van and when I started to pull away it slid up over the curb and mow strip and onto the lawns. Went about one hundred feet before I could regain the street, and then it was about two hundred feet shy of a cliff down to the track by the Missouri. Company name in nice big orange and white letters too....
We also have a brush truck or plow go ahead of us to calls, sometimes with a jump bag and providers. If needed, they can sometimes walk to the patient well before the vehicles can get there. (By the way, has anyone here tried cross-country skis for that?)
When it's snowy enough, I won't leave the garage without a snow shovel and salt or kitty litter. I also like to bring extra water and snacks, a car charger for my cell phone, and a good book. Being stuck in a ditch is bad enough, but being stuck in a ditch while hungry and bored is worse.
When it's snowy enough, I won't leave the garage without a snow shovel and salt or kitty litter. I also like to bring extra water and snacks, a car charger for my cell phone, and a good book. Being stuck in a ditch is bad enough, but being stuck in a ditch while hungry and bored is worse.
Frozen snirt?
CritterNurse
Forum Captain
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snirt is that slushy mix you get when you add dirt (often with salt mixed in) to snow and drive all over it. Then it can freeze solid.
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I put the chains on the ambulance and drive? If it gets bad enough we will get a plow leading our way, doesn't really change our operations except creating an exemption to our county contract specified response times.
It's just snow...maybe I'm jaded from growing up in an area that gets 350-400 inches of snow a year on average though.
One tip I have been told is to never raise the gurney to full height with a patient onboard and pushing it around in the parking lot or on the sidewalk unless you want to dump your patient on their head.
It's just snow...maybe I'm jaded from growing up in an area that gets 350-400 inches of snow a year on average though.
One tip I have been told is to never raise the gurney to full height with a patient onboard and pushing it around in the parking lot or on the sidewalk unless you want to dump your patient on their head.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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I notice no Alaskans are responding.
Must be snowed in.
Must be snowed in.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Yeah, Dallas shut down with 3/4 inch once.
On the other hand, Fairchild AFB in eastern Washington used their snow plows to clear ash from Mt St Helens off their runways.
On the other hand, Fairchild AFB in eastern Washington used their snow plows to clear ash from Mt St Helens off their runways.
DesertMedic66
Forum Troll
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We never get snow but all the ambulances have chairs inside the rig. We are able to go from code 3 status to code 2 status if the weather conditions are poor.
The closest plow is probably an hour away at least.
The closest plow is probably an hour away at least.
There's no substitute for driving slowly, stopping slowly, and to a lesser extent, starting slowly. Be aware that even if you have a green, the cross-traffic may not be able to stop, so be cautious at intersections. That's winter driving in a nutshell.
In my opinion, most problems arise when the temperature is going above freezing during the day, or over the course of the week, and stuff is melting and re-freezing. Or when the roads haven't got snow-covered yet, and people are driving like they're clean, and there's patches of ice around. Once it gets down to -20C, it often doesn't snow as much, and you get less freeze-thaw going on.
When the safe driving speed start approaching the speed limit, or becomes less, it's probably best to turn off the lights, because the average member of the public will probably start driving beyond their capabilities, or may just be in a better vehicle for the road conditions. There's no point going lights and sirens doing 60 km/h in a 100km/h zone.
In my opinion, most problems arise when the temperature is going above freezing during the day, or over the course of the week, and stuff is melting and re-freezing. Or when the roads haven't got snow-covered yet, and people are driving like they're clean, and there's patches of ice around. Once it gets down to -20C, it often doesn't snow as much, and you get less freeze-thaw going on.
When the safe driving speed start approaching the speed limit, or becomes less, it's probably best to turn off the lights, because the average member of the public will probably start driving beyond their capabilities, or may just be in a better vehicle for the road conditions. There's no point going lights and sirens doing 60 km/h in a 100km/h zone.
Ardmoreff
Forum Ride Along
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Best tip I have. Drive the backup truck, not the brand new one. Drive slow!!
So.......it's snowing. What's your point?I notice no Alaskans are responding.
Must be snowed in.
In Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska, snow and/or icy streets is pretty much normal conditions from November through April. Ain't nuthin' special. About the same as if you asked the folks in Seattle & Portland what they do when it rains.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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We used to have four wheel drive issues
If we locked in the manual four wheel drive hubs, then turned very tightly a few times, the little bolts holding the hub onto the wheel would shear off.
Chains didn't do it, we were driving on a flight line and they were forbidden, nothing like a steel chain link into an engine inlet to make someone's day much longer. And chains on our non-flightline trucks would spin out with centripetal force and scar the wheel wells and adjacent body.
If we locked in the manual four wheel drive hubs, then turned very tightly a few times, the little bolts holding the hub onto the wheel would shear off.
Chains didn't do it, we were driving on a flight line and they were forbidden, nothing like a steel chain link into an engine inlet to make someone's day much longer. And chains on our non-flightline trucks would spin out with centripetal force and scar the wheel wells and adjacent body.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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We used to have four wheel drive issues
If we locked in the manual four wheel drive hubs, then turned very tightly a few times, the little bolts holding the hub onto the wheel would shear off.
Chains were not always an option, we were driving on a flight line and they were forbidden, nothing like a steel chain link into an engine inlet to make someone's day much longer. And chains on our non-flightline trucks would spin out with centripetal force and scar the wheel wells and adjacent body.
If we locked in the manual four wheel drive hubs, then turned very tightly a few times, the little bolts holding the hub onto the wheel would shear off.
Chains were not always an option, we were driving on a flight line and they were forbidden, nothing like a steel chain link into an engine inlet to make someone's day much longer. And chains on our non-flightline trucks would spin out with centripetal force and scar the wheel wells and adjacent body.
lightsandsirens5
Forum Deputy Chief
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I was going to say almost exactly this same thing.
On heavy winter weather days we get a plow assigned to us and he gets paged out along with us if we are going out of town.
The only thing I do different in the winter is take some extra warm clothes and a backpack with blankets, water and stuff like that.