For information about calls that are received from or about people at risk trapped in a road vehicle fire refer to: Survival guidance, Protect people at risk: Fire survival guidance – transport fire
Fire control personnel receiving a call to an incident involving a road vehicle, such as a collision, should gather and share relevant information to assist operational personnel and other emergency responders. The information gathered should include:
- Entrapment status
- Number of casualties involved
- Number of vehicles involved
- Any other hazards present
Once operational personnel are in attendance, they should confirm whether a casualty is trapped (medically or physically) in any of the vehicles involved. They should gather relevant information to assist personnel in applying the most appropriate techniques and speed of response, while maintaining the safety of the casualty and all emergency responders.
All responding agencies will work together to develop a bespoke casualty-centred extrication plan, with the primary focus of minimising entrapment time. Self-extrication or minimally assisted extrication will be considered by responding agencies at the scene in the first instance wherever possible, such as through a multi-agency risk assessment or by fire and rescue service personnel following the U-STEP OUT principles.
For more information refer to Search, rescue and casualty care – Casualty-centred rescue from a mode of transport.
Stranded on a road network
Several factors may influence the safety advice that fire control personnel give to people at risk stranded on a road network, such as:
- The nature of the incident, for example:
- Road traffic collision
- Vehicle fire
- The type of road upon which people at risk are located
- Whether any active traffic management methods are in place
A combination of the above factors will determine whether people at risk should stay in their vehicle or exit it.
People at risk may not be aware if there are active traffic management methods in place on the motorway, therefore the agency responsible for the motorway should be informed. This may be:
- National Highways
- Traffic Wales
- Traffic Scotland
- DfI Northern Ireland
The responsible agency may make changes to active traffic management methods to enable people at risk to evacuate their vehicle safely. This may affect the advice and guidance that fire control personnel provide.
