OH first responders attend highway accident training - ToledoNewsNow.com: News, Weather & Sports for Toledo, OH

Law enforcement from around Ohio gathered Monday night to learn how to deal with large-scale accidents, which have been piling up recently.

Winter weather can bring dangerous, icy roads, and large-scale accidents can occur, resulting in death, injuries, and traffic backups. So with such accidents in mind, 50 first-responders from northwest, central, and northeast Ohio took a 2-day course at the Owens Center for Emergency Preparedness.

"The real idea behind this is for everybody to talk," said Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) Lt. John Altman. "Because at a major incident, you're going to need fire, you're going to need EMS, you're going to need law enforcement, and you're going to need towing and recovery. You're going to need the Department of Transportation. You're going to need all those agencies working together."

The OSHP and ODOT are putting on the training, which focuses on what's called TIM: Traffic Incident Management. This involves not only treating patients from the accident, but clearing up the crash as soon as possible and preventing another form happening. The training can also save the lives of the first-responders.

"It's one of the most dangerous environments we work on, the interstate," said Toledo Fire Deputy chief Tom Jaksetic. "Because of the speeds, the vehicles. There are a number of line-of-duty deaths on law enforcement and the fire side attributed to incidents on the interstate."

First-responders that attended the training will take what they learned and share it with the rest of their departments.

"I'm not saying there aren't those discussions already, but it's building on those relationships that are already there that are going to make it safer for everybody involved," Lt. Altman explained.

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