Posted: 7/1/2016 9:31:55 PM EDT
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Who's in charge at a car accident with injuries?
Police, right ? |
Until patients are treated and transported, FD is usually in charge. After that PD can do what they want.  Honestly, never really seen or been in any dick-swinging "who's in charge" contests. We have a good relationship with our PD and everyone helps out doing what needs to be done and doesn't try to tell the other guy how to do their job. I've had way more problems with DPS Troopers than local guys. |
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Quoted:
Until patients are treated and transported, FD is usually in charge. After that PD can do what they want. Honestly, never really seen or been in any dick-swinging "who's in charge" contests. We have a good relationship with our PD and everyone helps out doing what needs to be done and doesn't try to tell the other guy how to do their job.
I've had way more problems with DPS Troopers than local guys. This. If injuries the FD/paramedics are in charge of every thing. Usually the FD will use the fire trucks to block lanes for safety because not much is going to move that fire truck. |
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The first responder on the scene becomes the Incident Commander by default. Once all disciplines or agencies required are on scene, then the Incident Command may pass to another agency. The key is to work in coordination to resolve the incident.
I don't recall ever seeing a pissing contest about who is in charge. |
| Ive had issues with PD, SO, and DPS at one point or another throughout my career. Even while extricating ive had a deputy ask my driver to move the truck so he didnt have to direct traffic. All in all theyre usually pretty cool, just a cpl fools, just like any profession. Fools are everywhere you go. |
| To be honest, it's such a non-issue I hadn't even thought about it. We all have our roles. Fire doesn't come out for minor crashes unless it's requested and at major crashes they're there to treat and secure the patient while I figure out what happened and do my best to keep traffic moving. The only time we (police) are 100% in charge is when the crash is obviously fatal (think missing/smashed head). They'll come and print off a strip and then use their truck to block traffic while we work the crash. |
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Quoted:
Ive had issues with PD, SO, and DPS at one point or another throughout my career. Even while extricating ive had a deputy ask my driver to move the truck so he didnt have to direct traffic. All in all theyre usually pretty cool, just a cpl fools, just like any profession. Fools are everywhere you go. I've encountered this several times over the years. You get to know the guys who are going to be a problem. It's not unheard of, at all. |
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Quoted: To be honest, it's such a non-issue I hadn't even thought about it. We all have our roles. Fire doesn't come out for minor crashes unless it's requested and at major crashes they're there to treat and secure the patient while I figure out what happened and do my best to keep traffic moving. The only time we (police) are 100% in charge is when the crash is obviously fatal (think missing/smashed head). They'll come and print off a strip and then use their truck to block traffic while we work the crash. I been doing this in the same place for 25 years. No big issues. Most every accident is ultimately run by the cops, while we both work together. The major stuff listed ends up with fire command, until such a time we turn it back over to PD. Lots of cities have pissing contests between the two departments. Most everybody around us gets along. We get along exceptionally well with our PD, we are extended family, PERIOD. |
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Quoted:
Who's in charge at a car accident with injuries? Police, right ? What do you mean by "in charge?" They both have the legal authority to block traffic. Only peace officers have the authority to conduct criminal investigations (which traffic offenses are), so there could potentially be an issue with a firefighter/EMS destroying evidence. Usually they just unnecessarily block too many lanes of traffic. Everybody has a job to do and it gets done. Ultimately, if there is a disagreement between police and fire it is a pissing contest that nobody is going to win.
The closest Attorney General opinion I've seen is GA-0859. Thus, Texas statutes establish that law enforcement agencies and fire departments have different but related spheres of legal authority on matters relating to motor vehicle accidents. However, no Texas statute, judicial opinion, or regulation establishes whether a fire or sheriff's department would have "command decision authority" or "final say on where to land a helicopter" at a motor vehicle accident site. Sec. 550.041. INVESTIGATION BY PEACE OFFICER. (a) A peace officer who is notified of a motor vehicle accident resulting in injury to or death of a person or property damage to an apparent extent of at least $1,000 may investigate the accident and file justifiable charges relating to the accident without regard to whether the accident occurred on property to which this chapter applies. (b) This section does not apply to: (1) a privately owned residential parking area; or (2) a privately owned parking lot where a fee is charged for parking or storing a vehicle. Sec. 546.007. CLOSURE OF ROAD OR HIGHWAY BY FIREFIGHTER. (a) This section applies only to a firefighter who is employed by or a member of: (1) a fire department operated by an emergency services district; (2) a volunteer fire department; or (3) a fire department of a general-law municipality. (b) A firefighter, when performing the firefighter's official duties, may close one or more lanes of a road or highway to protect the safety of persons or property. (c) The closure shall be limited to the affected lane or lanes and one additional lane unless the safety of emergency personnel operating on the road or highway requires more lanes to be closed. (d) In making a closure under this section, the firefighter shall deploy one or more authorized emergency vehicles with audible and visual signals that meet the requirements of Sections 547.305 and 547.702. And then just to further confuse things: Sec. 38.15. INTERFERENCE WITH PUBLIC DUTIES. (a) A person commits an offense if the person with criminal negligence interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes with: (1) a peace officer while the peace officer is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted by law; (2) a person who is employed to provide emergency medical services including the transportation of ill or injured persons while the person is performing that duty; (3) a fire fighter, while the fire fighter is fighting a fire or investigating the cause of a fire; <snipped> |
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Quoted:
Until patients are treated and transported, FD is usually in charge. After that PD can do what they want. Honestly, never really seen or been in any dick-swinging "who's in charge" contests. We have a good relationship with our PD and everyone helps out doing what needs to be done and doesn't try to tell the other guy how to do their job.
I've had way more problems with DPS Troopers than local guys. Around here it was always one or two county guys that gave us grief. I've had DPS step in and tell them to pound sand if they started fucking with us |
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I've never even really thought about it to be honest. Typically it's a group effort and we just work together and around one another to get it all done. If it's so bad of a crash that everyone is truly doing their job, so much has to be done that there's no time to sit there and argue over who's in control or who gets to do what. Just move on to another step and come back to what needs to be done when they are done if what they were doing prevents you from doing that step at that time. Now obviously, there are those times when one group takes priority over another. Vehicle on fire, EMS and LE stand back and let FD work. Someone trapped, LE stands back and let EMS and FD work. DWI/Criminal/Fatal in nature, FD and EMS lets LE work. That's just how it's done. Like said above, you run into some little piss ant in all three groups who wants to be the NIMS master and take control, but usually they get reeled back in quite quickly by a co-worker. It's just not necessary. No one ever gets pissy and most of the time there is a work around and still let everyone do their job. Never had any problems that even stick out in my memory. I'm sure they have had happened but it's so minor it went in one side and out the other. If there were any problems it was probably related to vehicle placement. |
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Quoted: Around here it was always one or two county guys that gave us grief. I've had DPS step in and tell them to pound sand if they started fucking with us Quoted: Quoted: Until patients are treated and transported, FD is usually in charge. After that PD can do what they want. Honestly, never really seen or been in any dick-swinging "who's in charge" contests. We have a good relationship with our PD and everyone helps out doing what needs to be done and doesn't try to tell the other guy how to do their job.I've had way more problems with DPS Troopers than local guys. Around here it was always one or two county guys that gave us grief. I've had DPS step in and tell them to pound sand if they started fucking with us |
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Quoted: I just was wondering, Saw an accident and while I was hanging around waiting to give a statement I witnessed a pretty hostile exchange over who was HMIC. Unfortunately, not all Police or Fire departments have cool-headed guys calling the shots and sometimes people feel the need to die on a stupid hill.  |