Schuylkill Expressway

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Lessons from a Line-of-Duty Death and Multiple Responder Casualty Incident at a “Routine” Limited Access Highway Crash Response

Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) MM 335, Lower Merion Township, PA Saturday, July 24, 2021

Experience the Schuylkill Expressway MM 335 Incident

In the wee hours of a clear, calm summer night, the Lower Merion Township Fire Department companies Belmont Hills Fire Company and Gladwyne Fire Company, along with one Pennsylvania State Police unit, and a Narberth Ambulance unit responded to a 911 caller reporting they were involved in a vehicle crash with injuries on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) at mile marker 335. When they arrived, they found not much more than a fender bender with no injuries. How did this “routine” crash become a firefighter line-of-duty death with multiple other emergency responders injured? What turned this minor crash into a frantic rush to save multiple responder lives holds important, urgent responder safety and traffic incident management lessons for every organization that responds to roadway incidents. Click “Experience the Schuylkill Expressway MM 335 Incident” to learn from this experience before you go to the next roadway incident call for service.

Experience the Schuylkill Expressway MM 335 Incident

51 Available Training Programs

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Personal Protective Equipment for Roadway Incident Response 2026

This module details the personal protective equipment that emergency responders should wear when responding to roadway incidents.

Advance Warning

This module discusses the concept of advance warning, its benefits, and how to implement a range of advance warning devices.

After Action Review for Roadway Incidents

This module presents a rationale and recommended procedure for conducting after action review of roadway incident responses.

Autonomous Vehicles

Learn about autonomous vehicle technology, challenges and opportunities for emergency responders, the current state of tech development, and how to be prepared.

Blocking Procedures at Roadway Incidents

This module discusses the concept of blocking, why it is important, how to determine whether linear positioning or block positioning is appropriate at a given incident.

Connected Vehicles

In this program, you will learn the basics of connected vehicle technologies, the challenges and opportunities they present to emergency responders, the current state of technology development.

Fire Department-Based Vehicles for Traffic Control

Learn how fire department-based vehicles can be outfitted for temporary traffic control, including special purpose vehicles and modifications to existing apparatus.

Fire Service Collaboration with Towing & Recovery Operations

This self-paced program discusses how the fire service and towing personnel can communicate and collaborate effectively to safely and efficiently handle roadway incidents.

The First 15 Minutes at Roadway Incidents

Learn what actions first-arriving emergency response personnel should take when they first arrive at an incident on the roadway.

Helmets and Head Protection for Roadway Incidents 2025

This module highlights parameters, design standards, and evaluation for helmets used in roadway incident response.

High Visibility Innovations

It is widely known that the visibility of responders is a key factor in safe emergency operation on the roadways.

Innovative Temporary Traffic Control Devices & Methods

This program raises awareness about these new devices, technologies, and methods so departments can evaluate whether these options can be adopted in their communities.

Integrating Roadway Safety into Community Risk Reduction Programs

Learn how to integrate roadway safety and safe driving practices into public education programs and events to reduce the risk of roadway incidents.

Intro to Fire Service Traffic Incident Management Professional

The responsibilities, qualifications standards, qualities, and preparedness needs for fire service traffic incident management professionals.

Law Enforcement and High Visibility PPE

This program summarizes the federal regulations with regard to high visibility safety apparel, examines the objections of law enforcement officers to wearing this apparel.

LODDs on the Roadway: Safety Lessons Learned

In this program, we look at four NIOSH reports on firefighter line-of-duty deaths that occurred while operating at a roadway incident.

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD 2011 Version)

This module highlights and explains in plain language the portions of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD 2011 Version) that apply to first responders working roadway incidents.

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices 11th Edition

This module explains the traffic incident management provisions of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices 11th Edition.

Manual Traffic Control

This program lays the foundation for successful manual traffic control and offers recommended procedures for manually directing traffic safely and effectively.

Move It or Work It

The module relates the Move It Work It decision to safe, quick clearance and the National Unified Goal.

National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management

This module presents the National Unified Goal as the road map for implementing cross-department cooperation and communication.

New Technologies in Emergency Vehicle Lighting

This program examines the history of emergency lighting technology, current trends vs. research, problems with current lighting technologies, and potential solutions to address these problems.

Planning for the Long-Term Event

This self-paced program provides guidance for jurisdictions and Traffic Incident Management (TIM) teams to plan for long term events.

Professionalism and Leadership in Roadway Incident Response

This program delves into the topic of professionalism at the organizational and personal level to give both leadership and boots-on-the-ground responders.

The Public Safety Telecommunicator's Role in Roadway Safety

This module presents ways to better integrate public safety telecommunicators into the roadway incident response team.

Recommended Practices for TIM SOPs

For years, the fire departments have worked to standardize their operating procedures across jurisdictions within geographic areas.

Roadway Emergency Crossovers

This module discusses recommended SOPs, safety practices, and training for using roadway emergency crossovers.

Roadway Incident Operational Safety for EMS Providers

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) vehicles respond to a wide variety of roadway incidents, such as crashes, pedestrians struck by vehicles, other medical emergencies, natural disasters, and weather events.

Roadway Incident Safety Training Guidance for Fire Officers

Learn how to effectively integrate roadway incident safety training into your department’s training evolutions.

Safe Fire Service Traffic Control Practices

This module provides a basic understanding of the framework of traffic control at emergency scenes.

The Safety Officer’s Role in Roadway Incident Response

This program prepares safety officers to promote and implement recommended roadway incident response safety practices in training evolutions and on scene.

Safety Service Patrols: An Underutilized Partner

This self-paced program will provide both an introduction to Safety Service Patrols at the awareness level and recommend vehicle outfitting and roadway operating procedures for SSPs.

Scene Control

This self-paced program discusses the issues created when persons other than responders and victims are present at a roadway incident scene.

See and Be Seen: Emergency Lighting Awareness

This module presents best practices in deploying emergency optical warning devices, called here "emergency lighting."

Setting Up a Traffic Incident Management Unit

This self–paced program uses existing Fire Police units as examples for demonstrating how an agency can set up a dedicated traffic incident management unit.

Sobriety Checkpoint Safety

This module presents practical steps law enforcement officers can take to maximize their safety while working sobriety checkpoints.

Special Circumstances: Safe Operations for Vehicle Fires

This module discusses the safety and traffic incident management challenges of vehicle fires and options for responding to these challenges.

Special Hazards

This self-paced program discusses the traffic incident management impacts of several special circumstances: HAZMAT, medical helicopters, vehicle extrication, and crash investigation.

Starting and Sustaining a TIM Committee

This self-paced program provides guidance on how to start and sustain a TIM Team, offering a framework, proven models, and tips for success.

Termination

Learn best practices for terminating response at a roadway incident safely, including creating a plan, demobilizing, removing traffic control devices, and restoring traffic flow.

TIM For The Next Generation

This self-paced program is specifically for first responders who are newer to the profession, typically in their teens and twenties.

TIM Techniques for Weather Events

This module spotlights how weather impacts emergency scenes on roadways and provides guidance for how to plan and respond when weather conditions significantly affect the incident.

Traffic Incident Management on Rural Roads

This self-paced program presents information on how to tailor some roadway response best practices to the characteristics of rural roads.

Traffic Incident Management Requirements in NFPA 1550

This module highlights NFPA 1550’s requirements for traffic incident management safety.

Traffic Incident Management: Incident Command & Management

In the context of the TIM Team and at the scene, learn how to use the Incident Command System (ICS) to manage a roadway incident response.

Traffic Incident Management: Model Practices & Procedures

Discover model policies, practices and procedures for key TIM topics, from pre-planning to incident response and through to after action review.

Traffic Incident Management: Strategies for Public Outreach

This module sets forth a series of vetted best practices for drivers to follow when encountering emergency scenes on the roadway.

Traffic Incident Management: TIM Training & Resources

This module provides a framework for TIM training and guidance on the techniques and methods used in TIM training.

Understanding NFPA 1091

This self-paced program explores both uses of NFPA 1091, explaining it in "plain language" for emergency responders and discussing how it can be used as a training objectives blueprint.

Who’s In Charge at Roadway Incident Scenes?

This self-paced program examines the question, "Who's In Charge at Roadway Incidents?"

Wildland Fires and Traffic Management

Learn safety procedures for operating near roadways affected by wildland fires and offroad when vehicles and wildland firefighters are in close proximity.

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TIM Technician Certification

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Tools For PIOs & EDUCATORS

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ResponderSafety.com and The Responder Safety Learning Network (RSLN) are a project of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI), a Committee of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman's Association. The RSLN is an online training network delivering critical safety training for roadway incident responders. All training is free and delivered 24/7/365 on demand. The self-paced modules include critical components of roadway operations safety in an emergency situation, including: Advance Warning, Blocking, High Visibility, Traffic Control, Public Outreach, Incident Command, and more. Register online to get started.