The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has marked its service patrol vehicles similar to the rear striping standard in NFPA 1901 Standard for Motorized Fire Apparatus.
Chief Allen Baldwin, Turnpike Incident Manager, worked with Turnpike operations folks along with Turnpike Emergency Service Coordinator Dave Dombrowsky, who spearheaded discussions with State Farm Insurance Company, the Service Patrol sponsor. The agreement led to the modifications of existing units to more resemble the colors found in the 2009 NFPA 1901 Standard that has revolutionized rear visibility on fire apparatus.
“The change was based on the Commission’s number one priority, the safety of everyone on our system” said Baldwin. “That includes our travelers, our workers, the towing and recovery community, and emergency responders who are on the Pike helping mitigate problems”.
Baldwin is also the Fire Chief at Gettysburg, PA. He was an advocate of the rear marking standard for fire apparatus. After a number of secondary incidents involving service patrols around the nation he convinced officials that improving the rear visibility might reduce these incidents.
Chief Baldwin is a member of the CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute and regularly teaches highway incident scene safety on behalf of the Institute.
