How safe are you at night in the pits!

art leong · 02-14-2010, 03:14 PM

I was concerned about being locked in at a track last year. But after some inquiring I found out that the lock on the gate was a combination lock that police and fire had the combination to.
I believe most emergency services are prepared for incidents at a public venue.
When I worked for the Staten Island Ferry every 6 months or so the local fire department would come down to familiarize the newer guys with the below decks spaces. And coordinate the "what ifs". As in if there was an engine room fire they learned not to do anything till they talked to both the master and the chief engineer. If we had a bad below decks fire. We would simply shut the ventilation off and pull the CO2 system flooding the spaces with CO2 and removing the oxygen. You don't need a bunch of firemen. down there, if their Scottpack failed they would never make it out. No mater how good they were at eating smoke.

dragracer9911 · 02-15-2010, 01:10 PM

Please respect what Wade is saying. I have known him for 30 years. He is an accomplished fabricator, an avid drag racer at both the national level as well as the local scene, and is now a retired firefighter from one of the nation's busyest county's. He has vast Haz-Mat experince. He knows of what he is talking about.
In addition to what Wade was saying, when was the last time you saw a race car trailer with the Haz-Mat placard or a helmet with your blood type. There are a lot of things that we can each do to help ourselves. Most of us take things for granted, including myself. I used to always ride around what ever track that I was at just to see where everything was(mostly the snack bar and restrooms), but really to see the shut down area, ambalance, firetruck if any, etc.. Again, now I probably take it for granted.

Jody Lang · 02-17-2010, 11:11 PM

[QUOTE=art leong;169160]I was concerned about being locked in at a track last year. But after some inquiring I found out that the lock on the gate was a combination lock that police and fire had the combination to.
I believe most emergency services are prepared for incidents at a public venue.

Art, from personal experience this couldn't be further from the truth.

Mike Brogniez · 02-18-2010, 12:15 AM

Great thread on safety and valuable inputs posted.
Be safe anytime, use JACK STANDS AT ALL TIMES....

Dottie DiBartolomeo · 02-18-2010, 08:06 AM

Wade this has always been a concern and should be. There are a lot of factors that can go wrong.

If you are asking the tracks to step up and have additional professional people to be on duty through the night they will now start to charge us for these additional services and to stay in our motorhomes throughout the event.

We used to pay to stay at New England Dragway and I think this issue was tossed around at Maple Grove. But I think the writing is on the wall and sooner or later we will have to pay for the convenience of staying at the track.

larry dowty · 02-18-2010, 10:42 AM

dottie on the west coast in div. 6 we already pay to stay at the track.

Dick Butler · 02-18-2010, 11:00 AM

Great post. We are our own best source of help at night. As stated Fire extinguishers for our own use and use on the road if needed are "required". It is great to realize others are EMTs, etc and that can be our best safety net until outside help. Tags for allergies , Diabetics etc are just plain good sense. As stated "calm" helps.... Just as you carry tools for almost any need, carry your own medicines for most possible personal needs and educate your family and children on basics as we all need growing up and it helps.

Wade Mahaffey · 02-18-2010, 11:26 AM

The point I am trying to make is, that there are steps/actions that all of us can take to minimize the chance of a serious incident. Education and/or the past experience from others on this thread cost us "0". If we do not take advantage of this and become proactive and progressive then it will end up costing us all more money. In the same way that auto accidents from cell phone usage, substance abuse, theft etc do affect/increase your premium! In retirement, I have a twenty-five year career as a Professional Firefighter/EMT in Fairfax County, Virginia behind me now. Our department is progressive, very highly trained, and known AROUND THE WORLD. You have seen us on CNN many times. I have been around the block more than a few times myself, and have seen the unthinkable. I am simply trying to bring about awareness so that it does'nt happen to you! On the job we would go into the schools and teach fire safety to the children during October (fire prevention month). We would provide handout material with fire safety for kids as well as parents. We were among the first departments in the country to hand out free smoke detectors, and now look at what they have done to save lives and property.

That's foward thinking, progressive acting, incident preventing, life saving!

All it takes is a piece of paper handout when you come thru the gate, or at tech with some safety tips on it. As well as information on the location of EMS/Firefighters on duty personnel stationed on the grounds, and off site local department, Law enforcement and any track/show officals. Just a few notes that would provide immediate action/direction in the event of an emergency incident. This would help to prevent, reduce, resolve and/or mitigate an event that otherwise could be devastating and possibly cost the track/grounds/association money. (which will cost us money in the long run) That sounds a lot better to me than a safety charge on my entry! I would certianly think race track owners/officals would be willing to look at some of my ideas to reduce incident potential.

These things will save us all money, and for some........heartache !

Wade Mahaffey

Jim Bailey · 02-24-2010, 07:10 PM

Wade: I have a concern that goes right along with your post. I've often wondered what would we do in case of a Tornado bearing down on the Race Track / Pits? Besides assuming the position and kissing our ***** good bye what would the correct action be? JB

voltdr · 02-24-2010, 07:30 PM

What would you do if you were at home? The same rules apply. Don't try to save all of your stuff. If you try to drive away, are you driving in the right direction or into more danger, DO NOT lock yourself in your trailer or motorhome. Find a low lying drainage ditch and lie flay until it passes. Fortunately with a tornado you don't have to wait long for it to move away.

02-14-2010, 03:14 PM	#1
art leong VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Richmond Hill, Georgia Posts: 2,003 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! I was concerned about being locked in at a track last year. But after some inquiring I found out that the lock on the gate was a combination lock that police and fire had the combination to. I believe most emergency services are prepared for incidents at a public venue. When I worked for the Staten Island Ferry every 6 months or so the local fire department would come down to familiarize the newer guys with the below decks spaces. And coordinate the "what ifs". As in if there was an engine room fire they learned not to do anything till they talked to both the master and the chief engineer. If we had a bad below decks fire. We would simply shut the ventilation off and pull the CO2 system flooding the spaces with CO2 and removing the oxygen. You don't need a bunch of firemen. down there, if their Scottpack failed they would never make it out. No mater how good they were at eating smoke. __________________ Art Leong 2095 SS

02-15-2010, 01:10 PM	#2
dragracer9911 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Southern Maryland Posts: 75 Likes: 0 Liked 3 Times in 1 Post	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! Please respect what Wade is saying. I have known him for 30 years. He is an accomplished fabricator, an avid drag racer at both the national level as well as the local scene, and is now a retired firefighter from one of the nation's busyest county's. He has vast Haz-Mat experince. He knows of what he is talking about. In addition to what Wade was saying, when was the last time you saw a race car trailer with the Haz-Mat placard or a helmet with your blood type. There are a lot of things that we can each do to help ourselves. Most of us take things for granted, including myself. I used to always ride around what ever track that I was at just to see where everything was(mostly the snack bar and restrooms), but really to see the shut down area, ambalance, firetruck if any, etc.. Again, now I probably take it for granted.

02-17-2010, 11:11 PM	#3
Jody Lang Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 306 Likes: 28 Liked 89 Times in 28 Posts	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! [QUOTE=art leong;169160]I was concerned about being locked in at a track last year. But after some inquiring I found out that the lock on the gate was a combination lock that police and fire had the combination to. I believe most emergency services are prepared for incidents at a public venue. Art, from personal experience this couldn't be further from the truth.

02-18-2010, 12:15 AM	#4
Mike Brogniez Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 476 Likes: 7 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! Great thread on safety and valuable inputs posted. Be safe anytime, use JACK STANDS AT ALL TIMES....

02-18-2010, 08:06 AM	#5
Dottie DiBartolomeo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Beaver Springs, PA Posts: 18 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! Wade this has always been a concern and should be. There are a lot of factors that can go wrong. If you are asking the tracks to step up and have additional professional people to be on duty through the night they will now start to charge us for these additional services and to stay in our motorhomes throughout the event. We used to pay to stay at New England Dragway and I think this issue was tossed around at Maple Grove. But I think the writing is on the wall and sooner or later we will have to pay for the convenience of staying at the track.

02-18-2010, 10:42 AM	#6
larry dowty Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: chewelah wa Posts: 283 Likes: 0 Liked 11 Times in 4 Posts	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! dottie on the west coast in div. 6 we already pay to stay at the track. __________________ larry dowty 6388 SS

02-18-2010, 11:00 AM	#7
Dick Butler VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Richmond Indiana Posts: 1,196 Likes: 5 Liked 32 Times in 19 Posts	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! Great post. We are our own best source of help at night. As stated Fire extinguishers for our own use and use on the road if needed are "required". It is great to realize others are EMTs, etc and that can be our best safety net until outside help. Tags for allergies , Diabetics etc are just plain good sense. As stated "calm" helps.... Just as you carry tools for almost any need, carry your own medicines for most possible personal needs and educate your family and children on basics as we all need growing up and it helps.

02-18-2010, 11:26 AM	#8
Wade Mahaffey Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 581 Likes: 0 Liked 17 Times in 7 Posts	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! The point I am trying to make is, that there are steps/actions that all of us can take to minimize the chance of a serious incident. Education and/or the past experience from others on this thread cost us "0". If we do not take advantage of this and become proactive and progressive then it will end up costing us all more money. In the same way that auto accidents from cell phone usage, substance abuse, theft etc do affect/increase your premium! In retirement, I have a twenty-five year career as a Professional Firefighter/EMT in Fairfax County, Virginia behind me now. Our department is progressive, very highly trained, and known AROUND THE WORLD. You have seen us on CNN many times. I have been around the block more than a few times myself, and have seen the unthinkable. I am simply trying to bring about awareness so that it does'nt happen to you! On the job we would go into the schools and teach fire safety to the children during October (fire prevention month). We would provide handout material with fire safety for kids as well as parents. We were among the first departments in the country to hand out free smoke detectors, and now look at what they have done to save lives and property. That's foward thinking, progressive acting, incident preventing, life saving! All it takes is a piece of paper handout when you come thru the gate, or at tech with some safety tips on it. As well as information on the location of EMS/Firefighters on duty personnel stationed on the grounds, and off site local department, Law enforcement and any track/show officals. Just a few notes that would provide immediate action/direction in the event of an emergency incident. This would help to prevent, reduce, resolve and/or mitigate an event that otherwise could be devastating and possibly cost the track/grounds/association money. (which will cost us money in the long run) That sounds a lot better to me than a safety charge on my entry! I would certianly think race track owners/officals would be willing to look at some of my ideas to reduce incident potential. These things will save us all money, and for some........heartache ! Wade Mahaffey Last edited by Wade Mahaffey; 02-23-2010 at 04:32 PM.

02-24-2010, 07:10 PM	#9
Jim Bailey Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 674 Likes: 15 Liked 584 Times in 94 Posts	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! Wade: I have a concern that goes right along with your post. I've often wondered what would we do in case of a Tornado bearing down on the Race Track / Pits? Besides assuming the position and kissing our ***** good bye what would the correct action be? JB

02-24-2010, 07:30 PM	#10
voltdr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 706 Likes: 77 Liked 100 Times in 51 Posts	Re: How safe are you at night in the pits! What would you do if you were at home? The same rules apply. Don't try to save all of your stuff. If you try to drive away, are you driving in the right direction or into more danger, DO NOT lock yourself in your trailer or motorhome. Find a low lying drainage ditch and lie flay until it passes. Fortunately with a tornado you don't have to wait long for it to move away.