Used flare wires are dangerous
Jim Hartz
Chief
At a recent fire scene, we had to close a state highway south of our incident for an extended period of time, and we used many flares to accomplish this. As they burned out, the police kicked the support wires to the side of the road, as we sometimes do. In our haste to clear the road and get home and off these unsafe, snow-covered roads, we neglected to pick up after ourselves. Several days later, word got back to us that the homeowner living near this intersection was quite upset that we would leave these wires where they could be picked up and propelled like rockets at some innocent kid. On hearing this complaint, I immediately flashed back to an incident many years ago in which our ambulance transported a young child to the hospital.
The child was playing in his yard while his father was mowing the lawn. He ran over a wire bail from a paint can. The mower propelled the bail and impaled it in the child`s face, dangerously close to his eye. If this letter even comes close to preventing a recurrence for some other innocent child, it will be well worth it.
We now carry five-gallon pails in which to toss the expended wires, to prevent injury or maybe a flat tire. Of course, the other safety lesson is to keep people away from where you may be mowing lawns. Don`t leave those expended wires on the highway! It may prevent you from responding to another call and feeling extremely guilty about something that could have been prevented.
