DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - Several local and state law enforcement and rescue agencies are taking part in a special Safety Stand Down event on Thursday to promote traffic safety for accident response personnel.
"It started about 10 years ago or so in response to try to lower the amount of firefighters are killed in the line of duty," says De Pere Safety Officer Eric Johnson.
Each year has a different theme, like last year's goal to identify risks and reduce the number of firefighters potentially being exposed to cancerous materials.
So with the traffic safety theme, vehicles and responders from the Brown County Highway Department, Department of Transportation, State Patrol, Brown Count Sheriff's Office, Ashwaubenon Public Safety, Lawrence Fire, Hobart Lawrence Police Department, De Pere Police, and De Pere Fire will be taking part. Each will display their vehicles and the signs of how to spot on ahead of you on the road.
"Why should it just be isolated to fire departments working on the safety when we rely on everybody else at the scene?" Johnson says.
The second leading cause of firefighters being killed on while on duty is while operating at the scene of an accident and being struck by another vehicle. De Pere Safety Officer Eric Johnson says it's important to pay attention on the road.
"Last year alone, 44 responders [nationwide] were killed in the line of duty on the roadways," Johnson tells WTAQ News, "Slow down and move over. Whether it be amber warning light, red lights, blue lights - it doesn't matter. You need to have that personal safety on the roadways, especially out on Interstates 41 and 43."
Several crashes have happened recently across Wisconsin, and Johnson was able to list several incidents off the top of his head.
"There's a lot of local incidents that that have occurred, so there are plenty of areas with strong reminders of what can possibly happen," Johnson says.
He noted an incident last January involving an employee from Glenn's Towing of Bellevue who was struck and killed while on the highway near De Pere.
Johnson also recalled:
A Green Bay Police Department squad vehicle was struck and totaled just two weeks ago while parked on shoulder of Highway 57 east of Green Bay. A "vivid" memory of the incident near Madison last Friday where four people were killed, two state troppers were severely injured, and a highway worker was critically injured due to secondary crashes around an initial crash response.
Oconto had fire engine destroyed in crash two years ago. Peshtigo had firetruck hit and severely damaged this past Halloween. Waupaca had fire engine hit on Highway 10. And a firefighter in Endeavor, Wisconsin was also hit and killed a few years ago.
