BY JOHN A. VAN DOREN
On a sunny afternoon this past October, the Clyde (OH) Fire Department received an alarm for a commercial fire at an automobile parts manufacturing plant.
After an initial size-up of the fire conditions, we decided that a fast direct attack on the growing fire, using our preconnected crosslay from the initial arriving engine, would work best.
The attack crew advanced the uncharged line into the plant from the loading dock area toward the fire, which was safely approachable but farther into the building (photo 1).
 (1) Photos by author. |
As the crew neared the point of its attack position and requested water, there was a sudden surge and an immediate loss of water pressure, which resulted in an inadequate water supply for effectively attacking the fire. As the crew stopped its advance and requested more pressure on the line, the pump operator could tell from his gauges that there was a problem somewhere else in the system. He and the backup crew followed the line down from the loading dock entry point, removing some kinks and sharp bends in the line. They soon discovered that the severely pinched hoseline was wedged perfectly under the loading dock vehicle restraint system (photo 2).
 (2) |
The backup firefighters were unable to pull the severely wedged line from under this clamp-like pinch point. The interior attack crew was advised of the situation at the loading dock. The operator closed the valve to the crosslay; the remaining line pressure was relieved at the nozzle as the interior attack crew retreated until the situation at the loading dock could be corrected.
Now, even with the pressure relieved, the backup crew was still unable to slide the hose out from under the vehicle restraint system. The hose was wedged so tightly that that section of hose had to be removed from the lay and abandoned. The broken line was then reconnected, water pressure was reestablished, and the attack continued successfully. No one was hurt, and minimal property damage resulted from the delay.
LESSONS LEARNED AND REINFORCED
During our debriefing after the fire, we discussed what happened and how and why it occurred. We understood that a vehicle restraint system was the clamping wedge for our rapidly advanced attack line.
The vehicle restraint system is a key part of an integrated loading dock safety system in the manufacturing and shipping world. Truck restraints lock trailers in position at the loading dock (photos 3, 4).
 (3) |
 (4) |
We learned that vehicle restraint systems, or trailer restraints, were first introduced in the 1980s as a replacement for ineffective wheel chocks. Vehicle restraint systems latch onto trailers to keep them from separating from the dock during loading and unloading.
The restraint systems minimize serious industry accidents and injuries that can occur from the following:
- Trailer creep (dock walk). The trailer gradually moves away from the dock as a result of the ongoing momentum of the forklift’s traveling in and out of it, especially in air-ride trailers.
- Early departure. The truck driver pulls away from the dock before loading operations are completed.
- Landing gear failure. Weak or corroded landing gear gives way during loading, and the trailer collapses.
- Trailer upending. In a form of trailer tip-over, usually on pup trailers, the first heavy load placed in the nose of the trailer causes the rear of the trailer to rise.
- Trailer drop. This causes forklift drivers’ chronic back and neck injuries and damages product and equipment as the trailer moves up and down from the weight of forklift loading and unloading.
The next morning we were inspecting some other commercial warehousing facilities and discovered that these huge warehouses were each being fitted with this type of vehicle restraint system at every dock space (photo 5).
 (5) |
Clear, understood communications, along with quick assessments and reactions to the clamping problem, helped minimize the effects of the problems mounting against us that day. We broke the chain of bad events that may have resulted in an undesirable outcome under other extreme circumstances.
Preplanning your industrial shipping and manufacturing sites and having awareness of this proactive industry safety measure, along with proper crosslay deployment and using a door wedge under the vehicle restraint system, may help you avoid this potential problem.
JOHN A. VAN DOREN is a captain in the Clyde (OH) Fire Department.
