https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd....80/1379331_10202142250901021_1862163515_n.jpg Is the train actually supposed to ride up and over the hose on those red blocks or are these just a bunch of not-too-bright firemen?
Hopefully the engineer would stop, seeing red on the tracks. And that the RR had been contacted, requested to stop traffic. But I am thinking your guess is correct.
To hazard a guess, it's folks following an SOP in an instance where it doesn't really apply. The protection is designed for highway traffic to cross the hose without causing damage, and it's probably been drilled into them so often and hard to put those out that they just did withour considering the totality of circumstances. Blind obedience to policy, in short.
I'm sure the engine and train would have no problem bouncing over the blocks. Though I hope the crew is wearing seat belts or else they'd be lofted into the overhead....LOL
I'd say a case of safety procedures written by some idiot in an office who has never fought a fire in his life and a bunch of fireman who follow procedure for fear of disiplinary action if they don't, no matter how stupid it is. The sad part is that someone's house could burn down while the firemen are trying to figure out why there is no water coming out of their hose, and any official inquiry would say "We don't know how it happened, all procedures were followed to the letter".
Reminds me of the old Three Stooges film. [video=dailymotion;xv03y]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xv03y_three-stooges-false-alarms_fun[/video]
I think the simplest explanation is that the closest available fire hydrant is on the "wrong" side of the tracks, and the firefighters cannot waste time hunting for a more distant hydrant on the "right" side of the tracks.I like to think the best of people, procedures, and organizations, thus this is probably a very wise SOP. This would appear to be a standard way to protect the hose crossing the tracks, or any other active roadway for that matter. One would like to think that the fire department has notified the railroad. I'm prejudiced. My Dad served in the FDNY many years ago.
Obviously the water supply is "wrong" side of the tracks. The point is the SOP is poorly conceived. Those blocks are intended for rubber tired vehicles. I've got to wonder why anyone would overlook that a two hundred ton steel flanged railroad engine might safely pass over such blocks. And if this has been overlooked, I'd wonder what else has been missed, in SOP....
Maybe they're just yanking the safety officer's, (or the incident commander's), chain. I gotta' believe they know it won't protect the hose, and the hose is charged.
This could very well just be a screw-up on the part of the fire crew. We are on a railroad forum, we know how trains work, but there are is a shocking number of people who really do not understand. The fire-fighters could honestly believe that a train would ride up and over those blocks. Their job is to know all about fighting fires, not trains. I have seen much worse done by "professionals" who you would think knew better...
The photo made it to operation life saver website to lol no details there either Sent from my LG-US780 using Tapatalk
In the military, I saw this kind of insanity all the time. I fully think this was a 'one size fits all and don't ask any questions' SOP. Wouldn't shock me if the firefighter who put the blocks out was relatively new as well, the kind of person who's had, "Don't ask questions, just DO it" tool to them one too many times. I always encouraged my people to 'use your head' in situations like that, which came back to bite me more than once when someone outranking me saw something doing something that (God forbid) actually made sense when it didn't click with whatever SOP some local unit had come up with...
Pretty harsh comments guys... did anyone stop and think that it may be just a case of "it's better than nothing at all"... so judgemental...I especially like the name calling... WoW
It was done as a joke. Done in Somewhere in Europe as I recall. Lots of info on the net about it if one does a little research. Kent in KC nvrr49@yahoo.com Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
