Is the safety safari impressive or what? (1 Viewer)

[Bobby]

did you see that truck racing out onto the track . I thought they'd tip the thing over they were hauling ASS.

once again , they are there before the car that wrecked even stops. in the replay without any commentary , you could hear someone say 'he's on fire'

and the truck was already rolling...

 

[Shazam]

They are the best in the business, period! Many times you hear people say that NASCAR has to cover a lot more area but if you will watch it is sometimes a minute or so before they get to a crash.

"Not that I would watch Toiletbowl racing."

I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody.

 

[topdigger]

It would be great if local tracks had half the crew that the Safari has.They are without a doubt the best In the motorsports business IMO..

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Whatever they are paid, it was WAY too little for this race! A huge number of oildowns and, as you said, their usual 110% commitment to rescuing drivers.
I don't know who was drivin' that big GMC, but had the tail hung out heading for Ron! Also, it's great to see Lefty directing cars off the track. An incredibly dedicated group.

 

[none]

I admire the Safety Safari and the job they do. BUT why are they still scrambling out of the bed of a pickup like they did in the sixties ??
They should have a purpose built firefighting rig !!! With a water cannon plus other hoses to speed the fire fighting effort. When they all have to exit out of a pickup bed valuable time is wasted while the driver is in danger !!
It's time to design and build a vehicle dedicated for drag strip safety...!!

 

[Paul]

The Safety Safari kicks ass! What they had to endure this weekend with the number of oil downs and still do their jobs is impressive. The NHRA has the best on track safety team bar none!

 

[Larry]

As serious as it was I chuckled when the loaded down truck took that turn almost on two wheels and something that looked alot like a hubcap fell off the left rear and went rolling across the track. LOL
Those guy's were definitely all business and I hope Ron is OK !

 

[The Counterfeiter]

From JK - "They should have a purpose built firefighting rig !!! With a water cannon plus other hoses to speed the fire fighting effort. When they all have to exit out of a pickup bed valuable time is wasted while the driver is in danger !!It's time to design and build a vehicle dedicated for drag strip safety...!!"
An excellent idea - I passed it by my father-in-law (a retired Fire Chief, now a NJ Fire Commisioner, in charge of purchasing fire equipment). The water cannon requires a large tank and high pressure pump that might require a separate engine. So . . . you are going to wind up with a large truck that cannot accelerate quickly and is not very manuverable. Also, he felt that since fire vehicles with enclosed cabs are to protect firefighters on the way to a fire, it is more efficient for Safety Safari members to exit from an open pickup bed. In addition, they have a better view of the situation when approaching the accident.
I'm not throwing cold water on your idea - just bringing up some things to consider from an expert. As far as I know, no racing series in the world has such a vehicle - if there was a practical solution, you would think F1 (where litterally billions of dollars are spent) would have one. I would be VERY interested to hear from Safety Safari members if there has ever been any consideration on developing such a vehicle. Again - an innovative idea, just seems to be a conflict between firefighting capabilities and response time.

 

[none]

What I envision could be built on a crewcab dually chassis,not a huge slow truck chassis. Use a regular cab and build a bed with side exits and about a 150-200 gallon water tank. A small water cannon with a pump driven by a power take off unit.It wouldn't have to be a big cumbersome truck as it's not a housefire ! But the time saved could mean a lot to a driver on fire !
I cringe every time I see those guy scrambling out of a pickup !

 

[Zak]

150-200 gallon water tank.

200 gallons of water is 1,669lbs - plus the weight of the tank. A Chevy dually about 9,500lbs

 

[Ken]

A couple of years ago, Rosenbauer America constructed a purpose built Safety Truck for the ASA stock car series. It was a four door F-350 with rescue tools and a small pump with water and foam. Anyway, it was well received by the ASA guys. Rosenbauer America's General Safety Div. plant is right down the road from Elite Trailers in Wyoming, MN.. They'd welcome anyone to stop in and see how they build fire trucks. At any time, they'll have ten or so fire trucks being built, including those real big airport crash trucks. Just ask for Dennis Berry or Kevin Kirvida, and mention my name.

Yup, I sell Rosenbauer trucks here in NJ. I keep bugging Dennis at Rosenbauer to build a truck for NHRA and the Safety Safari. Nothing yet but I'm still working on it. Maybe if someone from NHRA or the Safety Safari called him.....

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Ken - did the Rosenbauer truck ever put foam down on a racetrack? It is the weapon of choice for the huge trucks that battle aircraft fires. My source said that foaming a track would result in a cleanup that would make an oildown look really easy!

 

[none]

I think GMC is the "Official" truck of NHRA. Maybe if someone got Rosenbauer and GMC together they could come up with a workable fire truck for drag racing !! Something to get the fires out quicker and the drivers safer.
Does anyone remember the WIDE WORLD of SPORTS coverage of the Fireman Competition from New York state ?? It was probably in the 70's or so.
They had hot rod trucks that reall hauled !! And had various kind of foirefighting competitions,it was wild !
Maybe a NHRA Firetruck with a big shiny blower sticking thru the hood.And big Mickey Thompson tires on the back.low slung with a low center of gravity.
A functional fire rig and a show piece in one.

 

[Toejam]

I think NHRA should hire Scott Palmer, Joe Hartley and Dave Grubnic in a Safety safari school! They sure put on a Clean-up clinic this weekend!

 

[Jrod]

I think NHRA should hire Scott Palmer, Joe Hartley and Dave Grubnic in a Safety safari school! They sure put on a Clean-up clinic this weekend!

lol yeah at one point when i looked out on the track there was soo much white stuff on the ground it looked like it was snowing

 

[Ken]

Jim - Rosenbauer has a small high pressure style pump (UHPS) that they sell to the US Air Force for fighting jet engine fires. These unit can fit on a small ATV and are powered by a seperate "lawn mower style" engine. Foam can be mixed with the water if need be, but just water works fine. I've seen demos where a fully involved car fire is extinguished with less than 15 gallons of water. Very little water is wasted so there is hardly any water run-off. For more info, go to www.rosenbauer.com, and www.rosenbaueramerica.com. Thanks.

 

[Larry]

I don't have to use my many days of liquid firefighting training to say use smothering foam to kill a gasoline fire and in the case of a driver's safety damn the cleanup put out the fire without using liquid which will just spread the fire over a wider area. Use water fog to continue cooling area after fire is out.
Above post is correct about blowing fire towards the driver side of vehicle.
Bottles could be stationed with track spotters to be the first on the scene .
IMO that would do it till the quick reacting Safari pulled up.
Cars ending up further down track generally take a while to stop giving crew more time to catch up.

 

[vegasnitro]

if there was a practical solution, you would think F1 (where litterally billions of dollars are spent) would have one.

F1 uses a SLK55 AMG Mercedes. The car is driven by Bernd Rosemeyer, DTM legend and in the passenger seat is a neurosurgeon with a complete triage kit. The Benz follows the cars around for the first lap and then goes into the pits where it sits in ready mode to be on the track in a moments notice. At large circuits like Spa and Monza, there is a second car positioned on the backside of the circuit to reduce response time in the event of an incident. In 1995 there was a first lap incident in Japan and the driver had an emergency tracheotomy trackside that saved his life, that driver came back to win 2 World Championships in 1998 and 1999, his name is Mika Hakkinen.

Champ Car has a pretty good professional safety team that travels to all of the races.

The Safety Safari are top notch, and they do a fantastic job at all times. They don't nearly get the praise they deserve. Krisher's horrible wreck was a great example, they went speeding towards a disabled vehicle that was coming towards them ... on FIRE! Once they got there, they handled the situation coolly and competently, they didn't run around willy-nilly and just yank Ron out of the car that could have made the injury (if there had been one) worse. They put out the fire, stabilized the situation and gave Ron (and every racer) the care that he deserved.

This situation brings 2 things to light for me:

1. The HANS device works! If you are to believe Jeff Burk at DRO who cites impressive sources, the HANS device saved Ron's life. I will echo Jeff's sentiments, it is time for NHRA to get it in the rulebook, make it MANDATORY.

2. It is unconscionable for NASCAR to not have a professional travelling medical team. Way too much money flowing from Charlotte to Daytona and back to not take this step for the racers. Their continued reliance on local off duty EMTs is going to bite them in the arse (where their heads are). I am not saying your local EMT can't do a good job, but a specialized team a la the Safety Safari could do a better job for the racers.

 

[Nazgul]

I concur on the Safety Safari praise, those guys are the best. I couldn't believe how fast that truck whipped onto the track speeding towards Krisher while he was still rolling not yet stopped. And they do this & more everytime there is a need... Kudo's to those men & women.

Like Chris said, Champ Car has one of the best safety teams out there too.

 

[DrRocket]

.........It is unconscionable for NASCAR to not have a professional travelling medical team. ..........Their continued reliance on local off duty EMTs is going to bite them in the arse .........

That may have already happened in 2/18/2001. Not saying it would have made a difference, but who knows..........