CDL: Crashes and Fires
Crash Procedures and Fires: What to Do When Things Go Wrong
No driver wants to be involved in a crash or dealing with a vehicle fire, but knowing exactly what to do in either situation can make the difference between a manageable incident and a tragedy. This article covers the three basic priorities after a crash, along with how vehicle fires start, how to prevent them, and how to fight one safely if it happens.
Crash Procedures
If you're involved in a crash and aren't seriously injured, your job shifts immediately to preventing further harm. There are three basic priorities to work through: protect the area, notify authorities, and care for the injured.
Protect the Area
Your first concern at the scene is stopping a second crash from happening in the same location. To do this:
- If your own vehicle was involved, try to move it to the side of the road. This helps prevent another collision and lets traffic continue moving.
- If you've stopped to help someone else's crash, park away from the scene — the space right around the crash will be needed for emergency vehicles.
- Turn on your emergency flashers.
- Set out reflective triangles to warn approaching traffic, positioning them so other drivers have enough time to see them and react before reaching the scene.
Notify Authorities
If you have a cell phone or CB radio, call for help before getting out of the vehicle. If you don't, wait until the scene has been properly protected, then either call the police yourself or send someone else to do so. Try to pinpoint your exact location so you can pass along accurate information to responders.
Care for the Injured
If a qualified person — such as a paramedic or other trained responder — is already on scene helping the injured, stay out of the way unless they specifically ask for your assistance. Otherwise, do what you reasonably can to help, keeping these basic guidelines in mind:
- Don't move a severely injured person unless leaving them in place would expose them to danger from fire or passing traffic.
- Apply direct pressure to control heavy bleeding.
- Keep the injured person warm.
Fires
Truck fires can cause serious damage and injury. Understanding what causes them, how to prevent them, and how to respond if one starts is an essential part of driving safely.
What Causes Vehicle Fires
| Category | Common Causes |
|---|---|
| After a crash | Spilled fuel, improper use of flares |
| Tires | Under-inflated tires, dual tires that touch each other |
| Electrical system | Short circuits from damaged insulation, loose connections |
| Fuel | Smoking while driving, improper fueling, loose fuel connections |
| Cargo | Flammable cargo, improperly sealed or loaded freight, poor ventilation |
Preventing Fires
Several habits go a long way toward reducing fire risk:
- Pre-trip inspection: Thoroughly check the electrical system, fuel system, exhaust system, tires, and cargo, and confirm your fire extinguisher is properly charged.
- En route inspection: Whenever you stop during a trip, check the tires, wheels, and body of the truck for any signs of excess heat.
- Follow safe procedures: Use correct techniques when fueling the vehicle, applying the brakes, and handling flares or other activities that could spark a fire.
- Monitoring: Watch your instruments and gauges for signs of overheating, and glance at your mirrors periodically for smoke coming from the tires or the vehicle.
- Caution: Use ordinary care whenever you're handling anything flammable.
Fighting a Fire
Knowing how to fight a fire matters just as much as knowing how to prevent one — drivers who don't know what to do have sometimes made a fire worse. Take time to read the instructions on your fire extinguisher before you ever need it.
Pull off the road. Get the vehicle stopped and off the roadway. Park in an open area, well away from buildings, trees, brush, other vehicles, or anything else that could catch fire. Never pull into a service station. Once stopped, notify emergency services of your situation and location.
Keep the fire from spreading. Before attempting to put the fire out, take steps to contain it:
- For an engine fire, shut off the engine as soon as possible. Avoid opening the hood if you can — instead, direct extinguisher foam through the louvers, the radiator, or from underneath the vehicle.
- For a cargo fire inside a van or box trailer, keep the doors shut, especially if the cargo includes hazardous materials. Opening the doors feeds the fire more oxygen and can cause it to burn much faster.
Extinguish the fire. When using an extinguisher:
- Stay as far from the fire as you reasonably can.
- Aim at the base of the fire, not at the flames themselves.
- Position yourself upwind so the wind carries the extinguishing agent toward the fire.
- Keep going until whatever was burning has fully cooled — the absence of visible smoke or flame doesn't guarantee the fire won't reignite.
Crashes and fires are both situations where hesitation or the wrong response can turn a bad moment into a catastrophic one. Knowing the priorities in advance — protecting the scene, getting help, caring for the injured, and understanding how to prevent and fight a fire — means you won't have to figure any of it out for the first time in the middle of an emergency.