BE SAFE - BE SEEN! Highway scene safety is the critical component in protecting our emergency responders, the motoring public, and our residents. Thorndale Fire Police play a pivotal role in providing this protection. Just like our firefighters utilize Engine 38 or Rescue 38 along with their turnout gear and the appropriate tools on any given emergency scene, the Thorndale Fire Police use Traffic 38 and their specialized clothing and equipment to provide traffic control.

Traffic 38 is a 2013 Ford F-350 4X4 crew cab with a Reading Equipment Corp. custom-built aluminum utility box featuring a full rear chevron for high visibility. A 30” X 60” tilt-up Trafcon arrow board - that can be seen a half mile away – is used to channel traffic in a specific direction.

Advance warning and appropriate scene lighting are critical in avoiding secondary accidents. Traffic 38 is equipped with all LED emergency lighting, including scene lighting on the left, right, and rear. A roof-mounted Night Scan light tower is often deployed to cascade light down on the rear of the traffic unit so our fire police are more easily seen by approaching motorists. Traffic 38’s light bar and rear lighting can also be adjusted at night to reduce glare and avoid blinding drivers in approaching vehicles.

Traffic 38 carries (50) 28” traffic cones, (20) cone topper arrows and signage (6) 8 ft. A-frame road barricades, (72) conventional road flares, (12) electronic flares, (2) 48” “Emergency Scene Ahead” signs, (2) 48” “Road Closed Ahead” signs and additional road closing signage.

Our fire police can also deploy a variety of traffic managing equipment including a variable-message Traffic Sign Board (TSB38), a Traffic Cone Trailer (TCT38) capable of deploying (150) cones and (7) interlocking Jersey barriers, and a newly acquired 4,000-watt Portable Light Tower (PLT38). These units were acquired through grant programs. They are dispatched through the county Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and are available for deployment to large scale events anywhere in the region when requested.

High visibility and reliable radio communication are imperative to fire police safety. In addition to traffic wands, all Thorndale Fire Police are issued high-vis gear including vests, coats, hats, and rain gear. For winter use, fire police are provided wind resistant protective hoods, knit stocking caps, winter gloves, and hand/foot warmers. To ensure their safety, fire police are issued 800 mhz. radios that enable them to communicate with each other and incident command at any emergency scene.

Thorndale Volunteer Fire Company has a very active fire police component. There are (10) fire police officers who provide traffic control at most emergency scenes. However, all fire company line officers and most of our firefighters have also taken Basic Fire Police training and are capable of assisting with traffic control at any time.

An expression often used at Thorndale is “If your feet are on the street, your chest is in a vest!” Unless fighting a vehicle fire, all emergency responders wear high-vis reflective vests at all accident scenes. Highway scene safety is everyone’s responsibility and the ultimate goal is to always have everyone go home safe.