The Road Warrior
By Allen Baldwin

Apparatus Striping Increases Visibility
In a recent column, we talked about new requirements for reflective safety apparel for roadway incidents and the importance of our personnel being seen on the roadway. In keeping with that theme, let’s look at striping on apparatus.

To increase visibility on the scene and while responding, we need to make sure our apparatus is visible, not just with emergency lighting or the color. I don’t plan on opening up the debate about apparatus color, but my personal opinion is fire apparatus is meant to be red. We also need to look beyond what type, if any, retro reflective striping we have on our apparatus.

Let’s take a few minutes and look at general apparatus striping, including that found on the rear, compartment doors, apparatus cab doors and apparatus compartment shelving. We will also take a quick look at what is out there as far as proposed changes to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901 standard for 2008 in reference to apparatus striping, including striping on the rear, and what other guidelines we should be attempting to meet.

For a good while, NFPA 1901 has required reflective striping on the apparatus along the body length and front cab area for the most part. Departments have developed numerous designs over the years using striping and combinations of reflective graphics to achieve this.

NFPA 1901 states that at least 50 percent of the cab and body length on each side, and at least 25 percent of the width of the front of the apparatus shall have retro reflective stripe(s) affixed to those areas. The combination of stripe(s) shall be a minimum of 4 inches in total width. A graphic design shall be permitted to replace all or part of the required striping material if the design or combination thereof covers at least the same perimeter length(s) as described above. All reflective material will meet the ASTM D 4956 Standard Specification for Retro Reflective Sheeting for Traffic Control Type I or better.

 

Reflective dots placed on the smooth portions of diamond plate are an effective way to meet the intent of the NFPA requirements to have reflective chevrons on the rear of apparatus.

As for the rear of the apparatus, the proposed NFPA 1901 changes have the following wording: at least 50 percent of the rear vertical surfaces of the apparatus shall be equipped with a minimum 4-inch alternating yellow and red chevron retro reflective striping sloping downward and away from the center line of the vehicle at 45 degrees.

The Chevron Design
Again this material needs to meet the ASTM D 4956. The reason for this “chevron” design is that it actually meets the requirements for a vertical warning panels as set forth in the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Management of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Manual (MUTCD). This manual regulates the type, design, and placement of traffic control signs and pavement markings.

These requirements are used by or adopted into individual state traffic control device manuals also. The chevron is actually defined in the MUTCD in section 6F.61 as follows – vertical panels must be retro reflective with strips that slope downward at a 45 degree angle in the direction vehicle traffic is to pass. Basically this means that if the pattern is to be compliant with the MUTCD Standard and the proposed changes to NFPA 1901, then the chevron pattern on the back of your apparatus should look like an upside down “V.” If other designs are used, and your apparatus is struck, there is always a chance that you might have to explain why you are non–complaint with the MUTCD, but then the same could hold true if you have nothing on the back of your apparatus. There are a lot of opinions on this type of apparatus marking, with a lot of people feeling this type of striping is ugly or not needed.

Safety Of Personnel
The question is how important to you is the safety of your personnel? Let’s face it, most transportation agencies have some type of chevron markings on the back of their vehicles as they realize the importance of being seen to keep their crews safe. Why should we be any different?

Take a good look at your apparatus and see exactly how visible your apparatus is at the rear to approaching motorists. Remember, this is not only for highway responses, but for our other responses where the apparatus will be parked at an incident. One only has to look at last year’s firefighter fatality report or NIOSH’s review of firefighter fatalities to see that we have responders being struck on residential streets, parking lots and on training details.

Many departments have applied striping to existing apparatus in various patterns or colors. Some might argue that some of these designs don’t comply with the MUTCD, but then something is probably better than nothing. Many of these departments have used varying color combinations, especially to give a contrasting set of colors to the apparatus or even to complement the apparatus to help increase its visibility. Again, on existing apparatus, something is probably better than nothing. Several departments have even applied this striping to the front bumpers of their apparatus to increase visibility.

Applying chevron striping to the rear of existing and new apparatus can be done numerous ways, depending on the rear body construction. For smooth body areas the striping can be applied directly to the apparatus without much work or effort. The material can be applied to the roll up door area on the rear of the apparatus very easily also. If the door is large enough, it may actually give you your 50 percent of the rear area.

Dealing With Diamond Plate
An option for areas that are covered in diamond plate is to install smooth panels over the diamond plate area. Another technique for the diamond plate area is to use individual retro reflective dots and place them on the diamond plate in the smooth areas to form the chevron and retro reflective area.

Some other areas to consider adding retro reflective material to include the interior area of the crew cab doors so when the doors are open, there is a good amount of retro reflective material visible to approaching motorists, making the apparatus more visible and hopefully signaling that someone is exiting the apparatus.
Another apparatus area that can use retro reflective striping is the slide out tool trays and boards. Marking the edges of these trays and boards helps not only make the vehicle more visible to passing motorists, but also makes them more visible for the responder so they don’t walk into them at night. Some departments are even marking the inside of compartment doors for the same reason as above.

The Chiefs’ Cars
Don’t forget your chiefs’ cars and support vehicles. The application of chevrons to the rear tailgate areas and bumpers will help increase the vehicle visibility and the safety of those responding in these vehicles.

We have only scratched the surface here, so for more information on this topic go to the Emergency Responder Safety Institute’s Web site, www.respondersafety.com. There are several good references and photographs on this topic that can help guide you in this area. There is even a link to the FHWA MUTCD Web site, along with a whole assortment of responder safety related information. Go to the NFPA’s codes and standards home page at www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes and look up the proposals on NFPA 1901.

Another good resource that spells a lot out about this issue is Ron Moore’s “Crash Course” Quick Drill Series – Part XIII Apparatus and Emergency Vehicle Chevrons. Ron has put together a great and informative drill on this subject. You can reach this drill through the ResponderSafety.com Web site and through Firehouse.com. Chief Billy Goldfeder’s firefighterclosecalls.com site and the United States Fire Administrations Apparatus Initiatives are also good references on this topic.

As always stay safe and return to quarters.

Editor’s Note: Allen Baldwin is the manager of operations and incident response for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and a volunteer assistant chief with the Gettysburg (Pa.) Fire Department. He has been a firefighter and EMT for over 25 years, served as chief of the Chambersburg (Pa.) Fire Department and is an instructor with the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy and several community colleges.