When The Tables Turn...

Do you remember this video from a few weeks ago?

That's right, it's a California Highway Patrol officer arresting a firefighter on the scene of a working accident.  Do you remember the firefighter's crime?  That's right, he would not move his apparatus from the lane which was providing scene protection to the incident.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I learn that two CHP officers lost their lives responding to a multivehicle accident.  While they weren't on the accident yet, but were responding to it and swrved, losing control of their vehicle, for me the lessons are the same.

Both fire side and police side would do well to remember where they are killed.  The highway.  In 2013, police officers died 47 times in incidents involving automobiles either during pursuit, being struck on the side of the road, etc.  Fire side has similar statistics.  Firefighters don't die in burning buildings, or when they do, it isn't the combustion, but the heart attack that gets them.

What is my point?  Well, crazy idea here...get on the same team before bad things happen.  The incident outside of Chula Vista is totally inappropriate.  I get there are multiple people who could be in command, but when someone is actively caring for a patient, help them get it done, so they can get out of the way and help you move traffic.

This is the kind of stupidity that seems to mark the modern police force though.

Does anyone remember a little incident a few years back called 9/11?  While the attack on the Pentagon could have fallen into any number of command hands that morning, an FBI agent who showed up, Christopher Combs decided instead of taking command of an enormous fire and patient population he was probably undertrained for instead he would find the fire incident commander and ask "what do you need?"

Amazing how quickly a potential problem is defused when we offer help instead of waving our badges around?  To my police colleagues, let me tell you if I may, I have zero desire to be on the side of the road any longer than I have to, but the big red truck keeps us both safe.

Sometimes that isn't even good enough as I was lucky or unlucky enough to be on a scene where a drunk went around the big red truck only to hit a helicopter a few years back because he "didn't know why it was flying so low."

It is stupid that a fatality and an arrest is needed to make Rodney King's point.  We're all in public safety.  Can't we all just get along?