By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
 Photo LifeGuard Technologies The RollTek system undergoes testing. |
With a fire apparatus responding somewhere in the United States every 20 seconds, it’s easy to see why vehicle crashes are among the biggest killers of firefighters.
About 20 percent of LODDs last year happened while firefighters were heading to a call. While a failure to use seat belts accounted for some of the deaths and many more injuries, being belted up only offers limited protection in incidents such as rollovers.
These types of accidents led to the development of RollTek, a side roll protection system designed to reduce fatalities and the severity of injuries suffered in rollovers.
It combines side airbag protection with the latest seat belt technology; a belt/seat pretensioner limits the firefighter’s movement during a rollover, while an airbag subsystem creates a barrier against the cab’s interior.
RollTek was developed by LifeGuard Technologies, which has been specializing in commercial truck occupant protection devices for more than 45 years.
Rollover deaths
The system is also used in commercial heavy trucks and lift trucks. LifeGuard Technologies began development in response to figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing about 50 percent of heavy truck deaths are attributed to a rollover.
Extensive testing, which included the use of a 90-degree rollover impact test machine, showed one of the factors behind the high casualty rate was the suspension seats found in trucks.
Steve Eickenroht, director of sales at the Indiana-based company, said during a rollover, suspension seats allow the occupant to move around significantly.
“The motion from the suspension seat creates a strike point that the driver or passenger may contact in a rollover, causing injury or a fatality,” he said.
“Our objective was to find out what we could do to reduce that motion and how we could put a system together that could bring additional safety to those vehicles.”
RollTek has a “roll sensor” that detects the vehicle’s angle and rate of roll and activates the protection devices when appropriate. This includes the airbag subsystem as well as technology that tightens the seat belt, pulls the seat down to its lowest position and then locks it to reduce movement.
“Once the truck is going past its point of stability and into a rollover, RollTek activates,” Eickenroht said.
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Different manufacturers
Pierce was the first apparatus manufacturer to offer RollTek-equipped vehicles, and the list now includes KME, Ferrara, Spartan, E-One and Seagrave.
While trucks can be retrofitted with the system, the company says the cost involved is often more expensive than buying a new, ready-equipped apparatus.
“We hope that it will become a standard feature in the future as we want to bring that additional safety to everyone,” Eickenroht said.
The key to ensuring RollTek’s maximum protection is the use of a seat belt, according to Eickenroht.
“The seat belt is always the primary safety device in a vehicle,” he said. “It’s the primary restraint, while airbag systems are supplemental.
“We always tell firefighters that the first of line of defense to prevent injuries is to wear a seat belt. If they don’t, then you wouldn’t know where to put the airbags.”