S: Survey
‘S’ STANDS FOR SURVEY
When you arrive at a roadway vehicle incident, the first thing you need to do is park out of the way, then survey the scene.
To effectively gather and process all the information necessary to form a plan, you need to be calm. Take a couple of seconds to collect your thoughts, take some deep breaths or coach yourself.
Next, introduce yourself to the other scene responders, identify who is in charge and inform them that you’ll be conducting a survey of the scene to determine the equipment and personnel you’ll need and estimate the time required.
A clip board with a note pad can help you stay focused and give you a written record of the survey so nothing is overlooked or forgotten (pre-print a checklist for added security in very stressful situations). Use a digital camera or your phone to take photos so you have a visual reference as well. Both will also be useful in the event there is any litigation about the incident in the future.
Many elements may affect the outcome, such as the time of day, victims, traffic, weather, visibility, surface environments, condition of the casualty and the load, if present. Make sure you take all of these into consideration.
Once all the pertinent information is collected, answer the following questions:
- What is required for traffic control?
- What is the recovery technique I’ll be using?
- What are my equipment (rigging, trucks etc.) and personnel needs?
- How will I prepare the casualty for recovery?
- How will I prepare the casualty for towing or transport?
- What is needed for load and debris removal?
- Where will recovery units be placed?
Use your answers to plan your approach.
Completing a careful and responsible survey requires distraction-free attention to detail. You’ll be searching for anything and everything that could impact the outcome of the job. It takes sound judgment and years of experience to make accurate predictions and determine the execution tactics for success.
Welcome to the first step of the WreckMaster Discipline!