High Winds and NOT RESPONDING?

[Jon]

Hey folks,

At what point does your service stop responding to calls in winds/storms/etc?
Any firm guidance?

 

[STXmedic]

Never...

 

[DesertMedic66]

We don't get hurricane winds here but we do get fairly strong winds.

If we don't feel safe at anytime responding code 3 then we can downgrade.

 

[TransportJockey]

I respond in winds up to 70mph gusting... would be higher but we don't see much higher here in NM...

 

[Medic Tim]

If the conditions are deemed dangerous(usually a severe snow/ice storm or flood where I work) we will only be asked to respond to serious calls(Charlie/Delta) but if at any point we feel it is not safe we are not required to respond and will do so as soon as it is safe to do so. Our safety is the priority. Our dispatch is constantly in contact with other agencies(DOT, Fire, Police, EMO, etc,) Dispatch will usually be up staffed* and they are constantly checking in on the people who have called 911. If it is serious our medical director or an alternate will speak directly to the pt/caller.

*We have 1 central dispatch for all ambulances. We are the only ambulance service(government run). We run a province wide SSP and in bad weather roadside posts are put on hold.

 

[shfd739]

At 50mph sustained winds we stop responding. Arent supposed to go thru standing water more than halfway up the tires. Snow and ice havnt stopped us yet- just slowed it down.

 

[mycrofft]

Good thread!

Wind is the common element no one plans for; elsewise they would scrap depending always/only upon popups and tents.

I was at a conference in Sacramento in 2005 (the first of only two "annual" "national" conferences held here/there) at which everyone and their neighbors brought their mobile command post, plus a couple helicopters and a pumper or three.

We had a freak windstorm blow up, sustained at a little lover 20 mph and gusting over 45 mph. All the helos left very closely followed by the trucks. Soon the shiney new mobile command post were packing it up. (At the end of the day, only the "Noah's Wish" animal organzation was still in place, God love 'em). If a little wind causes you to pick up your ball and glove and go home, what kind of emergency response org are you?

 

[NomadicMedic]

Sustained 40mph/gusts of 60 put us in a no response mode.

 

[Jon]

Hmm. Guidance I've seen is that SUV-type responders are safe up until 60 or 60 MPH winds. Ambulances shouldn't be out in anything more than 50.

 

[NomadicMedic]

It's more of a visibility issue. Blowing sand/water/leaves are more dangerous than the actual winds. Our squads are pretty stable in the wind.

 

[abckidsmom]

Hmm. Guidance I've seen is that SUV-type responders are safe up until 60 or 60 MPH winds. Ambulances shouldn't be out in anything more than 50.

That's what we go by too. When I worked in a city with high bridges, we stopped bridge crossings at 40-50 mph, and stopped response all together at 60-70 ish?

 

[mycrofft]

Wind and ambulance.

Hmmmm.

versus

 

[citizensoldierny]

Sustained gusts over 60 and no response

 

[Tigger]

We have no numbers, crew feedback to field supervisors determine when responses stop.

My inbox has been bombarded as of late with our "storm operational procedures" and that is one of them.

 

[EMDispatch]

A little late to this, but our county policy for Fire and EMS has now been set at 60 mph sustained winds. At that point we will not dispatch responders, but we will notify them of the pending call. In the event of a water rescue the speed limit is set at 35 mph.
Additionally we assign an automatic assist engine on all medical calls in storm conditions ( usually from about 12 hrs before the hurricane to when roads have been declared clear). In our extreme flood prone area, a 5 ton national guard truck and crew are assigned to them for assistance and response.

 

[SloEd]

We stop responding when the Ambulance tips over, or when we say its not safe for us to go.

 

[mycrofft]

Wind is the common element no one plans for; elsewise they would scrap depending always/only upon popups and tents.

I was at a conference in Sacramento in 2005 (the first of only two "annual" "national" conferences held here/there) at which everyone and their neighbors brought their mobile command post, plus a couple helicopters and a pumper or three.

We had a freak windstorm blow up, sustained at a little lover 20 mph and gusting over 45 mph. All the helos left very closely followed by the trucks. Soon the shiney new mobile command post were packing it up. (At the end of the day, only the "Noah's Wish" animal organzation was still in place, God love 'em). If a little wind causes you to pick up your ball and glove and go home, what kind of emergency response org are you?

OK had a little refresher on this at Spartan Race nine days ago. Not only rain on an unpaved clay surface, but sustained winds around twenty and gusts near thirty, coming INTO an open 40 ft tent. WInd effects inside were not that bad other than rain intruding about five feet, but the whole structure wanted to lift and billowed all three walls.

During a lull (e.g. before the hypothermia patients started coming in) I was expounding with the ambulance company's crew chief about windy ops, and he said he did not like the new Sprinter-class ambulances due to great side-loading by winds, and especially when they made a sudden turn from the direction of the wind to across it.

 

[Fish]

Sustained over 50mph

 

[Tigger]

OK had a little refresher on this at Spartan Race nine days ago. Not only rain on an unpaved clay surface, but sustained winds around twenty and gusts near thirty, coming INTO an open 40 ft tent. WInd effects inside were not that bad other than rain intruding about five feet, but the whole structure wanted to lift and billowed all three walls.

During a lull (e.g. before the hypothermia patients started coming in) I was expounding with the ambulance company's crew chief about windy ops, and he said he did not like the new Sprinter-class ambulances due to great side-loading by winds, and especially when they made a sudden turn from the direction of the wind to across it.

Yet Sprinters are the same height as most Ford and Chevy Type IIs. I never understood this argument, the sail area is barely larger.

 

[SloEd]

Tigger,
The sprinters are narrower, so it takes less force to tip them over (theoretically at least). It also seems like a lot of Type IIs have smaller sway bars so it feels tippier.