Palm Beach’s frequently gridlocked rush-hour traffic hasn’t stopped the town’s first responders from arriving to the scene of an emergency within four minutes this season.
That’s what Fire-Rescue Chief Sean Baker told residents at the annual Safeguard Palm Beach Spring Breakfast and Safety Forum.
The short response time is thanks to tools and policies the department has crafted to address congested traffic, Baker said. New to the department this season are quick-response vehicles — smaller and more agile golf-cart-sized vehicles used when a full-size version would be trapped in traffic.
The vehicles were used to great effect when a health emergency occurred during last years’ Worth Avenue holiday tree lighting, Baker told the March 12 gathering of more than 100 residents and guests at the Parish Hall of the Basilica of Saint Edward. The hall is on North County Road, a street that has seen more than its share of rush-hour traffic congestion over the past few years.
The fire department has also updated all its trucks this season with the HAAS Alert system, which allows them to alert other drivers nearby — using Waze, Apple Maps or in Stellantis — that an emergency vehicle is approaching, Baker told attendees. The technology is available to drivers of newer cars that include models of Chrysler, Dodge, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Fiat and Maserati.
When the system was used recently, he said, it had notified around 4,200 drivers in Palm Beach.
There also are contingencies in place so that, if necessary, Palm Beach Police can step in to direct traffic so that ambulances and fire trucks can use the opposite lane to get around congested areas, he said.
Even with the permanent closure of South Ocean Boulevard near Mar-a-Lago put in place after the Iran war began in late February, the fire chief said he was confident the department would retain its four-minute response time. The road closure effectively divides the town in half, forcing many drivers to detour to the mainland and back using one of the three drawbridges that serve the island.
Baker also touted the new EPOC Blood Analysis System added to the Fire-Rescue Department’s fire trucks and ambulances, which allows paramedics to perform lab-quality blood tests on scene. The results can provide valuable and timely data about certain conditions affecting a person’s health.
“By using this device … we actually will be able to determine what the cause is and treat the cause,” he told the attendees, who included Mayor Danielle Moore; Town Council members Ted Cooney, Lew Crampton and Bridget Moran; and incoming Council Member Nicki McDonald.
Additionally, the EPOC device will allow hospital staff to begin treatment earlier, as they’ll already have a blood test in hand, he said.
Baker thanked Safeguard Palm Beach’s parent organization, the nonprofit Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation, for providing a donation to fund the purchase of the EPOC devices.
Only 15 boats remain anchored west of Palm Beach
During the breakfast event, Police Beach Police Chief Nicholas Caristo said Palm Beach has seen the volume of cars entering the island increase each week since the start of the year.
That influx — along with other recent factors, including the closure of South Ocean Boulevard and the arrival of tourists visiting during their spring breaks — has led to the gridlock faced during rush hour, Caristo said.
Palm Beach police are working with Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach officials to improve the flow of cars entering and leaving the town, he said. But with the high volume of daily traffic and all-but-inevitable traffic clogs, the department “can only do so much,” he said.
If the Iran war subsides, Caristo said, South Ocean Boulevard likely would see a return to on-and-off closures, depending on whether President Donald Trump is visiting Mar-a-Lago.
The police chief also touted the department’s recent crackdown on illegally anchored and moored boats in the Intracoastal Waterway off Palm Beach.
Before the enforcement effort began mid-January, the waterway had 168 boats illegally anchored or moored, Caristo said. Now, only 15 remain.
He said the effort has helped clean the lagoon’s water, as some of those boats caused pollution through waste and debris.
Caristo thanked the Police and Fire Foundation for its $250,000 donation in support of the lagoon enforcement effort.
Both public safety chiefs took questions from residents.
The forum included opening remarks by the mayor, Safeguard Palm Beach CEO Thomas Quick and Police and Fire Foundation co-founder Tim Moran, who is married to Council Member Bridget Moran.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Smaller fire-rescue vehicles help navigate Palm Beach’s gridlock
Reporting by Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
