Severe Incident Response Vehicle

Responsibilities

The Severe Incident Response Vehicle Team is dispatched to major incidents on I-95, I-75 and I-595 (monitored and maintained by I-595 Express, LLC) in Broward and Palm Beach Counties 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. SIRV responds to any lane blocking incident dispatched by the SMART SunGuide Transportation Management Center (TMC). Staffing includes 2 full-time and 2 part-time Traffic Incident Management Specialists.

The vehicle will serve as an incident command post with the SIRV staff responsible for coordination and communication between incident responders, the TMC and FDOT. In addition, the vehicles are outfitted with traffic management equipment such as cones, signs, spill absorbent, roadway repair supplies and flares to be used for the Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) to ensure the safety of everyone on scene.

When not in the field, SIRV staff coordinates with responding agencies to conduct Post Incident Analysis (PIA). PIA's are a review of major incidents that are conducted with all responding agencies specific to that incident. A PIA's purpose is to learn what went well and see what could have been done better. SIRV Operators also prepare incident reports on all incidents they respond to. The SIRV staff performs Quality of Service audits and vehicle inspections for the Road Ranger Service Patrol Program. SIRV participates in the Broward County and Palm Beach County Traffic Incident Management (TIM) meetings every month.

The three vehicles used are medium duty dual wheel diesel engine trucks. They have 11 foot long covered utility bodies with red safety light systems to expedite emergency response. Each truck has two telescoping high-intensity floodlights on the front and 6 fixed mounted scene work lights on the remaining three sides. The trucks are also equipped with computer docking stations in the front seat area so the staff can use a laptop computer during incident command.

Each SIRV truck carries specialized equipment including:

• Roof Mounted Arrow Board for MOT
• Spill Pads and Containment Pools
• Over 300 Standard Flares
• Roadway Repair Supplies
• Emergency Scene Signs
• High Intensity Lighting
• Brooms and Shovels
• 100 Traffic Cones
• Electronic Flares
• Spill Absorbent
• Bottled Water
• Extra Fuel

SIRV Team

SIRV Operators are highly trained in the following:

• Incident Command Procedures
• National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Mitigation
• Advanced Maintenance of Traffic (MOT)
• Incident Quick Clearance Procedures
• Emergency Vehicle Operations
• First Responder
• Incident Documentation