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1 <br />March 14, 2013 <br /> <br />Pete Hallenbeck emergency services items- the detailed list <br /> <br />a) Drain pipes under driveways: <br /> Drain pipes should be 16’ wide so that trucks can pull into driveways without getting “hung <br />up” with a wheel in a ditch. Note that in addition to avoiding a catastrophic problem with the <br />entranced to a residence blocked, this change also improves response time by a few seconds <br />and avoids having the responding unit have to get way over into the opposing lane going very <br />slowly in order to insure it can cross the drain pipe, making every day operations safer for all. <br /> <br />b) Cull-du-Sac diameters: <br /> Some of the larger apparatus that responds to rural areas can be as long as 35 feet. With <br />private roads, cull-du-sacs tend to slowly loose diameter as vegetation grows in. When bring <br />water in for a house fire, often the only means for turning tankers around is to continue down to <br />the end of a private road and use the cull-du-sac. <br /> A minimum cleared diameter of 50 feet for new developments would insure that the fire <br />service would operate at peak efficiency. <br /> <br />c) Pull-over areas on 1 lane private roads: <br /> When a house is on fire, water often has to be brought in with tankers. These tankers go <br />back and forth from a water point to the house that is on fire. If there is a long one lane road, <br />tankers have to wait at the end of the road until there are no other vehicles on the road. An <br />ordinance requiring a 50 foot long pull-over area of at least 22 feet every 500 feet would insure <br />that fire suppression operations could occur with best efficiency. Note also that such a pull over <br />would be of benefit to the residents on the private road. <br /> <br />d) Tree Clearance on Driveways: <br /> Emergency apparatus is a tight fit with a 10’ wide bay door. Heights for some department <br />can be as much as 12 feet tall. Tree branches can droop when wet or when they have snow on <br />them. An ordinance requiring a 14’ wide by 14’ tall clearance for driveways would insure that <br />apparatus could negotiate the driveway with modest turns in it. If the ordinance would also read <br />with something along the lines of “...and must be able to pass a vehicle 35’ in length” that would <br />be good too. Note that this would also be beneficial for the residents for both UPS delivery <br />trucks and other vehicles such as gravel trucks or grading equipment trucks. <br /> In California, there are rules that require an area sufficient to turn a fire truck around for <br />each house. I think the cull-du-sac, pull-over requirements and this driveway clearance <br />requirements are sufficient for our area (we are not prone to the wildfire situations that California <br />has). <br /> <br />e) Gates: <br /> Many people have either locked gates or electronically controlled gates at their driveways. <br />This slows down emergency services personnel because they have to dis-assemble the gate <br />when they arrive at the house. There is always a dilemma faced by responders as to how much <br />force should be used. If a house is visibly on fire, then an aggressive approach is not <br />questioned. But for medical or fire alarms, if the emergency was not sufficiently life threatening <br />or if the property in jeopardy was not of sufficient value the gate is carefully disassembled or <br />responders wait for someone to come and open the gate. <br />6