CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland is deploying a new piece of safety equipment designed to protect first responders working on the highway: a truck-mounted attenuator.
City officials said first responders across fire, EMS and police have all been struck while responding to crashes on the interstate.
"All the city of Cleveland public safety departments or divisions have experienced either a loss of life or a serious injury while working on highways," Cleveland Fire Acting Chief Wayne Naida said.
Cleveland Police Sgt. Freddy Diaz pointed to a specific incident as a reminder of the danger.
"Unfortunately, we've also had very serious incidents, including Officer Fahey, who was struck on the highway," Diaz said.
Cleveland Police Officer David Fahey was struck and killed on Jan. 24, 2017 while responding to a crash on I-90.
The truck-mounted attenuator is designed to address that danger directly. Cleveland Safety Director Wayne Drummond described how it works.
"This truck mount and attenuator adds an important layer of safety. It alerts drivers, creates a safe working environment, and is designed to absorb the impact of a vehicle before it reaches an emergency scene," Drummond said.
The back of the truck features the attenuator, which folds down, along with a camera, an electronic arrow board to direct traffic and a digital speed display.
"It directs them, and then also it'll mark their speed as they're passing. It'll give them the new speed limit, so you'll see that on the back," Cleveland Fire's Mike Norman said.
City leaders say the investment is also cost-effective. Drummond explained the financial reasoning behind the purchase.
"Whereas here, the investment up front [is] about $170,000. We have the scorpion or attenuator on the back of it, which will absorb the impact, and that particular piece of equipment can be replaced, versus trying to replace a $1.5 or $2 million fire apparatus," Drummond said.
The truck is the only one of its kind in any Ohio city. It will be housed at Station 20 and used by both the Cleveland Fire Department and Cleveland Police.
Diaz said the new truck adds to the layers of protection already in place.
"We use emergency lights; sometimes we use cones. We have flares. So we have several layers that we utilize, and obviously now we have this tool," Diaz said.
The city's goal is to have three of these trucks in service by the end of the year. Officials are also reminding drivers to slow down and pay attention when they see emergency crews working.
"We want to encourage people. When you see us moving, you see lights, move right for lights. We want that left lane, that center lane in the road," Norman said.
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
