SWP - Roadway Incident Scene Blocking

Positioning apparatus, equipment and people at any incident on or beside a roadway so that an errant vehicle strikes steel, not a member, and so that the road reopens as soon as the hazard allows. It applies to every call where a member will be on foot on or within 3 m of a travelled lane: collisions, vehicle fires, medical calls at the roadside, hazardous spills, downed wires, debris, and any staging on a shoulder. It applies to career and volunteer members, to mutual aid partners under the department’s command, and to the department’s members under a host (NFPA 1550, 2024, ch. 11; NFPA 1091, 2024).

• Struck by a passing vehicle while working on the traffic side, crossing lanes, or exiting the apparatus on the traffic side.
• Secondary collision into the scene by a driver who did not see it, was blinded by warning lights, or was distracted; worst at night, in rain, snow and fog, on curves and crests, and on high-speed roads.
• An apparatus parked without blocking, or parked so that a strike pushes it into the crew.
• Members in bunker gear with no high-visibility garment, which is designed for heat, not conspicuity.
• Scene lighting aimed into traffic; too many warning lights at night.
• Crossing a median on foot; working in the live lanes of the opposite direction.
• Long closures with no advance warning, no taper and no police.
• Helicopter operations on a highway with traffic still moving.

High-visibility vest or jacket per riding position, inspected for soiling and retroreflectivity (CSA Z96:22); a minimum of {{Number}} cones on every front-line unit; an arrow board or directional light bar on units assigned to highways; flares or electronic flares where the department uses them; scene lights; flashlight with a red cone for anyone directing traffic at night, as some jurisdictions require by regulation (J31 Roadway Incident Scenes); helmet and bunker gear only where the task requires them.

The first-arriving officer positions the block before anyone leaves the cab. Every member holds traffic incident management responder training inside three years (Apparatus, Driving and Roadway Operations Program section 6). Extended closures on a numbered highway need a second blocking unit and police; a single-unit volunteer response on a high-speed road holds the scene from the protected side and requests the second unit before working in lanes.

1. Dispatch tells responding units the road, direction and lane information; the officer requests police for any numbered highway or any incident likely to exceed 30 minutes.
2. Decision point: block or shadow? The first apparatus will block. Later units park downstream in the shadow or far upstream as advance warning, never alongside the work area.
3. Vests on in the cab before arrival where seating allows; otherwise at the protected side of the apparatus before any other task.

4. Approach slowly in the lane of the incident; stop upstream of the incident at a distance that gives the crew working room and a crush zone (about 15 m on urban roads; more on high-speed roads; department choice, recorded).
5. Angle the apparatus about 30 to 45 degrees toward the shoulder so that the pump panel and the work area are on the protected side. Turn the front wheels away from the work area so a strike pushes the apparatus away from the crew.
6. Block the incident lane plus one adjacent lane (lane plus one). On a two-lane road with no shoulder, that means a full closure for the duration of the work; expect it and tell dispatch.
7. Warning lights to scene mode (dim non-essential lights, keep rear warning); scene lights on the work area, not on approaching traffic; headlights off facing traffic at night.
8. Everyone exits on the protected side. Nobody steps into a live lane for any reason until the taper is out or the lane is closed.
9. Cones out from the apparatus back upstream in a taper to the shoulder; the first cone at least 30 m upstream on a 50 km/h road, farther on faster roads and wherever the applicable temporary workplace traffic control manual sets a greater distance (J31 Roadway Incident Scenes); arrow board set to the merge direction.
10. Wheel chocks on; pump operator stays on the protected side; hose runs on the protected side only.

11. The ambulance parks downstream in the shadow, loading away from traffic; the rescue or second engine upstream as advance warning on high-speed roads.
12. Decision point: can the work be done without a full closure? On divided and high-speed highways, block all lanes briefly for extrication rather than leave one open at speed next to members; reopen as soon as the patient is out. Nobody crosses a median on foot; opposite-direction incidents get their own block.
13. Police take over traffic control on arrival; until then a member directs traffic only from the protected side, in a Class 3 garment, with a lit wand or a flashlight with a red cone at night, and never in a live lane.
14. The officer or the safety officer watches traffic as a standing assignment on any extended scene and calls “traffic” whenever a vehicle fails to slow.
15. A helicopter lands on a highway only with a full closure in both directions, confirmed by police.

16. Move the work, the vehicles and the apparatus off the roadway in the order the hazard allows; reopen lanes as soon as they are not needed; the block leaves last.
17. Pick up cones from the far end toward the apparatus, from the protected side, with the apparatus still blocking.
18. Debrief in the cab or at the station: the one question above; any near miss reported before the end of the duty period.

• Member struck: emergency traffic; full closure both directions; patient care; mayday procedure for accountability of everyone else; police; the HSO and the deputy chief notified; the scene preserved; Tier 2 or Tier 3 review (Incident Investigation and Learning Program).
• Apparatus struck: PAR; check for injuries; the struck unit stays as the block if it still protects the crew; a replacement block requested; data recorder preserved.
• Secondary collision into the queue: the officer splits the crew or requests another unit; the original block stays.
• Partner department units arriving: logged into accountability; assigned a position by the officer; equivalent apparel confirmed (Contractor and Mutual Aid Safety Program).

The incident report records the block position, the units and their roles, the apparel worn, police arrival, the closure duration and any near miss. Any struck-by, near miss or vehicle entering the work area is reported on Form - Near-Miss and Good-Catch Report or Form - Injury and Incident Report before the end of the duty period and enters the learning system. The safety officer’s observations at extended scenes go to the Apparatus, Driving and Roadway team’s quarterly update.

Every operational member: traffic incident management responder training initially and every three years; an annual positioning drill on the apron or a closed road with the cones and the arrow board; new drivers positioned under supervision before solo response. Officers: the lane-plus-one and closure decisions in the annual officer refresher. The Apparatus, Driving and Roadway team reviews this procedure annually and after any struck-by or near miss, with a learning-team session with the crews involved. Sign-off: the program manager; consulted: the JOHSC.

• Program: Apparatus, Driving and Roadway Operations Program section 5.15 and toolkit T6 (positioning diagrams described in text).
• Policy: Policy - Apparatus and Driving.
• Procedures: SWP - Emergency Vehicle Response and Backing; SWP - Personal Vehicle Response (Volunteers); SWP - Downed Power Lines and Utility Emergencies; SWP - Accountability and Personnel Accountability Reports.
• Forms: Form - Near-Miss and Good-Catch Report; Form - Injury and Incident Report; Form - Vehicle Collision Report.

This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.