Raconteur
Nitro Member
Comp Eliminator Racer Tyler Hogan had some scary moments at the LODRS Division 7 Points Meet at Firebird Raceway this past weekend.
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Fire! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Raconteur
- Start date
"Dr. Dirt"
Nitro Member
I had a front row seat for that one. Rick Waters had just staged him and he launched very nicely however, at about 100' he started to hop left and right. Once he lifted, all heck broke loose and it looked for most of the spin as if the car would stay on it's wheels. I'm very glad it didn't roll any earlier in the run as it would've tested his arm restraints and that's never good. It was great to see him out of the car with his hands up back to the starting line.
FABMAN
Nitro Member
Doc, who was the guy in blue shirt, doesn't appear he was making an effort to help the driver.
OK I guess I see a few problems...
where are the trackside fire extinguishers? Ideally should be an extinguisher at each set of timer lights..that way, anyone who gets there ahead of the safety crew (like the guy in blue) is not empty handed
Why aren't the fire/rescue guys in FIRE suits? Hard to fight fire in street clothes
When they did get there, why are they lobbing water from the other lane?instead of using the hose or an extiguisher from the side of the car that the fire is on?
Come on guys this isn't your first rodeo!
Glad the driver was OK
where are the trackside fire extinguishers? Ideally should be an extinguisher at each set of timer lights..that way, anyone who gets there ahead of the safety crew (like the guy in blue) is not empty handed
Why aren't the fire/rescue guys in FIRE suits? Hard to fight fire in street clothes
When they did get there, why are they lobbing water from the other lane?instead of using the hose or an extiguisher from the side of the car that the fire is on?
Come on guys this isn't your first rodeo!
Glad the driver was OK
Jenn
Nitro Member
Jesse, the driver was getting out under his own power. Almost anything the track worker could have done would have hindered not helped. He was also a trackside observer, not a rescue crew...so he wasn't dressed properly for fighting a fire.
Given the situation, I would have to believe that the guy holding the fire hose was fighting the fire at the base, as to not spread the fire out. Remember, the motor is chock full of chemicals that can spread the fire further. You don't want to point the spray towards a driver, or a track worker.
I also think he's operating on the assumption that the driver still may be under the car. It's always easy to see stuff when you are analyzing pictures, but not always as easy to make a snap decision in a critical situation.
I do think there was extinguishers track side (I was crewing for four cars, so I made that trek down the return road at least 20 times). But in his haste to get to the driver should the driver have been unconscious, the trackside observer may not have thought "There's gonna be a fire".
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Let's see
maybe trackside observer+ trackside fire extinguisher = fire out? (or at least the driver may not have caught fire?
lobbing water from the other lane does NOTHING to prevent the spread of the fire
hose on driver IF they are still in the fire is EXACTLY what you should do
acting in a critical situation? isnt that what the safety crew is trained for?
Race Safety IS serious business...the NHRA/SFI training program covers primary rescue crewmebers AND trackside observers/ ancillary personnel
Just because it's ONLY the Sportsman rounds is no reason NOT to be dressed for the occasion and ready.....is it?
Most bad wrecks at our track happened during the sportsman rounds not Fuel or Alcohol cars
maybe trackside observer+ trackside fire extinguisher = fire out? (or at least the driver may not have caught fire?
lobbing water from the other lane does NOTHING to prevent the spread of the fire
hose on driver IF they are still in the fire is EXACTLY what you should do
acting in a critical situation? isnt that what the safety crew is trained for?
Race Safety IS serious business...the NHRA/SFI training program covers primary rescue crewmebers AND trackside observers/ ancillary personnel
Just because it's ONLY the Sportsman rounds is no reason NOT to be dressed for the occasion and ready.....is it?
Most bad wrecks at our track happened during the sportsman rounds not Fuel or Alcohol cars
Jenn
Nitro Member
Getting in the way of the LODRS truck to get in the other lane would have no doubt elicited griping of the observers too. These people are pretty coordinated and don't get in eachothers way.
The crash happened at the midpoint of the track. I've approached a car that had NO indication of a fire and then had the fire burst out and singe my clothes and my hair. Should I carry a fire extinguisher? When the car rested initially, there was no fire...it flared and flared big.
FABMAN
Nitro Member
Jenn, I appreciate what your saying but this driver was on fire and he was struggling to get out. If the guy was a authorized observer he should have had on safety equipment and access to fire extinguisher. He basically was in the way. I believed this was a div 7 race, since it is sanctioned by NHRA who is responsible for safety and safety crew.
FABMAN
Nitro Member
Jenn, I went back and play the frames several times and I fell this observer should have had an extinguisher. I noticed on the next to last frame the driver is laying next to wall and then the last frame has him laying by dragster do you know how he ended back there. I seen over the many years I have been around racing that the local safety crew does not have the training necessary to do the job correctly, this is huge issue that needs to be address, even if entry fee needs to be raised to provide training, safety should always be first.
Jenn
Nitro Member
Having been with a team that's competed at about 75 national events and over 100 divisionals throughout the years, I can tell you that the trackside observers aren't in full fire retardant dress at the national event level either. The ones that do, are sitting in the back of the truck.
The trackside observer had estinguishers at the track. The car was on it's side and not on fire when the observer hopped over the wall. When the fire erupted, should the guy have gone back for the fire estinguisher, or check on the driver first?
As for the guy who was struggling to get out, he was upside down, and through the various accidents I've seen, I can tell you that if the driver is active in movements, the safety safari gives them the room to get out. If the driver is stunned, the safety personnel reaches in there to help steady the driver.
I've been on the most unfortunate end of watching a poorly trained and inadequately prepared safety personnel trying to get a driver out of the car.
I've also attended the funeral of the driver who suffered under poorly trained and inadequate equipment.
You guys are judging things on after the fact...you went over frame by frame and examined the situation very carefully. Did this guy have time for an instant replay?
I cannot fault the decisions of the safety safari, because they are the ones that are processing information in an instant. I would take that guy running over to my driver and acting as he did because he operated in accords to his best judgement at THAT INSTANT.
Perhaps the observer is even asking if things are ok or if he needs help. I agree that he was probably better to remain with the driver then go for a fire extinguisher. He didn't look like a spring chicken so possibly the last thing we needed was him down on the track too ... J/K.
FABMAN
Nitro Member
Jenn, I'm critical and maybe over reacting but it seems like there needs to be more training for all thats working track safety. Not mad, just a concerned racer.
vegasnitro
Nitro Member
I think the slideshow pictures cheat the situation and make it appear much more time passed than actually did. It was obvious to me that the driver could get out under his own power, so the track guy stayed back and let him. PLUS I am sure he could see the safety truck coming, and as the fire got bigger the track guy had no fire protection. His first instinct was to check on the driver, then the fire flared up and I doubt he could have gotten back over the wall to a fire extinguisher and back to the car and beat the safety truck, so he stayed with the driver.
I sure would like to see a video, I think real time footage will change a few opinions.
(Darr ... they were good photos, I am not knocking DROs work here)
I sure would like to see a video, I think real time footage will change a few opinions.
(Darr ... they were good photos, I am not knocking DROs work here)
"Dr. Dirt"
Nitro Member
I'm the very first to jump on Fireturd for less than perfect conditions but I was watching this from the front row seats and I don't fault the safety crew at all. From the locations these trucks can enter the track and the travel distance to arrive at the very middle of the track where this dragster ended up, these guys did a very good job.
I like to judge conditions by the results whenever possible and this result was a safe driver and fire knocked down. I'll choose to thank these safety guys on this one. The incident was extremely unfortunate but the results were far better than so many I've seen.
I like to judge conditions by the results whenever possible and this result was a safe driver and fire knocked down. I'll choose to thank these safety guys on this one. The incident was extremely unfortunate but the results were far better than so many I've seen.
Tony
Nitro Member
The three priorities in the fire service, in order, are save lives, protect property and stabilize the incident. The driver of the rescue truck aims for the race driver, not the car, because he is the priority. It looks like the driver rolls back to the car trying to put out the flame (remember to stop, drop and roll).
As far as where they're attacking the fire from, still pictures will not show that the safety worker in the red pants is walking toward the fire. You don't get up next to the fire and then start flowing water, you have the water flowing BEFORE you need it. You also don't park a gasoline filled pickup truck right next to a flaming race car, the hose will stretch.
As far as where they're attacking the fire from, still pictures will not show that the safety worker in the red pants is walking toward the fire. You don't get up next to the fire and then start flowing water, you have the water flowing BEFORE you need it. You also don't park a gasoline filled pickup truck right next to a flaming race car, the hose will stretch.
DE3
Nitro Member
Thankfully, the driver was unharmed. The scary part in this series(other than the obvious) seems to be what looks like his entire neck collar on fire in one of the pics. Maybe it was splashed with fuel, but if not, it sure didn't retard the fire, especially in the short amount of time that this probably took place in.
