Setting Up Flares At Accident Scenes

[SB 405]

I've driven past a lot of accidents at night in my years of driving and everytime I see flares I think to myself.. "Ya know all it would take is one little trickle of gasoline".... Gotta be a story or two in here somewhere....You know the person I'm talking about. The guy trying to be a good citizen and light up a few before you arrive on scene but ends up looking more like a fire dancer at a Luau and throwing them everywhere without a second thought and resulting in disaster.....anyone?

[dw]

Doesn't involve flares, but... I was following a vehicle with a flat tire off a bridge one day -- pretty beat-up older car. The left rear tire was pretty much gone and there were sparks coming off the wheel. As they made the 180-degree turn to a parking area, the rag, which served as a fuel cap, suffered catastrophic failure. Out went the rag along with half a gallon of gasoline on the same side as the sparks . Needless to say, I backed (further) off and prepared for the fireworks. Amazingly, nothing ignited.

[Your Mentor]

I've seen a lot of semi-trailor brake fires as big rigs descended the Sherwin grade but no flare fires. In fact, I remember working with one of my LEAST favorite graveyard partners (only lasted one month) and we had an overturned gasoline tanker on the grade. I headed for the office to get cones and he asked me why the hell I was bothering to pick up cones. I told him it was a gasoline tanker, like that somehow explained my reasoning. He just looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "We don't even know if it's blocking the road." Whatever. I still went to the office and got the cones. He even tried to take it as an 11-82, if you can believe that. A sergeant eventually showed up and ordered him to work it as a Hazmat. It was off the road but what fool would take flares to an overturned gasoline tanker? My sergeant, of course, put a nice comment on my 100 form for taking the time to stop and get cones. As an RP officer, I now carry full-size cones in my trunk (you can only get four in there). As far as crashes go, we try to keep the flares away from the crash scene, behind emergency vehicles, to slow people down. Anytime there's a question we call Caltrans who will show up with a truck load of cones.

[Mick]

We've had guys leave flares at TC scenes and leave without putting them out. Some fires along the highway have started by those flares. Firefighters just love it when that happens and have gotten a kick out of that.

[dw]

I watched a DOT crew start a brush fire with flares they were tossing out during sweeping. Our little fire extinguisher actually works if you get there quick enough.

[propeller26]

Flares make a really neat firework like effect when thrown against the windshield of a car that comes busting through your accident scene, but I wouldn't know anything about it.

[Capsicum]

And they are NEVER extinguished by tossing them in the air and landing with the same effect either. :smile:

[bcjack]

How about this for a safety item...You set up the most effective flare (or cone) pattern ever seen...then, just 3 feet inside the pattern (on the side you are working on) place a spike strip or two...Those cars that are on the WRONG (My side) of the flare (or cone) pattern get to spend the time hangin' out with you!!! :badgrin:

Think it would catch on???