For every minute a roadway is blocked for a vehicle crash, it takes four minutes to clear the stalled traffic backed up because of the crash, said Brian Purvis, a consultant working with the S.C. Department of Transportation to manage traffic.

On Thursday local fire, rescue, police, EMS, tow truck drivers and other emergency responders gathered at the M.L. Brown Building for free training on traffic management during crashes.

The six-hour course involved anyone who deals with traffic crashes in the Myrtle Beach area to increase awareness about the safety of emergency responders and the motorists, said Mike Bowman, DOT incident response management coordinator.