The City of Atlanta is a thriving, bustling, urbanized community. Being the home of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as well as boasting a comprehensive interstate highway and rail network has often earned us the nickname “Crossroads of the South.â€

A new rescue challenge, however, has emerged in Atlanta, which typically plays out on or near our limited-access/high-speed interstate highways. About two times per month, the Atlanta Fire-Rescue Communications Center dispatches a technical rescue assignment for a suicide attempt in progress: “Jumper on the interstate.†This article discusses the preparation; planning, training and resources needed to respond to this emerging and escalating situation.

Eye-Opening Case Study

After attending the Saturday morning activities of a major EMS conference held in Atlanta, I headed south to catch a flight out of Hartsfield-Jackson. I had timed my commute to allow for a meeting with an old fire service friend who was passing through our airport. It was several weeks before the Christmas holiday and the reunion was a most welcomed one.

As I merged onto Interstate 75/85 Southbound in downtown Atlanta, I observed a perplexing situation that would prove to be a little difficult to comprehend. Wearing a dark-blue uniform, a young police officer was shutting down the interstate by flagging down the 60-mph traffic. At first, I thought that I was driving into a “new†(just occurred) accident scene. As the policewoman got control over a lane of traffic, a marked police cruiser would move into place, establishing a traffic lane barricade. As each lane of vehicles was stopped, another police cruiser would position to block the interstate. In just a few minutes, all six lanes of the downtown section of the interstate highway were closed off and controlled by Atlanta Police.

Unable to locate any crashed vehicles, I changed my size-up to consider the possibility that a VIP’s motorcade was enroute to downtown Atlanta. Since the police cruisers were deployed down the entrance ramp, traveling in the wrong (opposing traffic) direction, I incorrectly surmised that some VIP was headed into the city (the time frame was just before the national elections and all of the candidates were visiting Atlanta).