The Bancroft Fire Department, as well as the other surrounding municipal fire departments, are comprised almost entirely of volunteers. As such, volunteers may not necessarily be close to the fire hall when paged to an emergency call. Our volunteers rely on the use of flashing green lights on their personal vehicles to respond quickly to an emergency, whether it be to the fire hall to respond with emergency apparatus, or to the scene directly.
The purpose of the flashing green light is to inform other motorists that a firefighter is en route to an emergency call such as a fire. To help support our volunteers you can, if safe to do so, yield the right-of-way by slowing down and pulling over to let firefighters pass by. This will help to ensure a quick response and could help save lives!
While it is the law to pull over and slow down safely for emergency vehicles with flashing lights such as fire trucks, police and ambulances, it is not the law to do so for volunteer firefighters running green lights. The flashing green light does not give volunteer firefighters exemptions from, or extra privilege’s within the Highway Traffic Act. We must still abide by the rules of the road and are held accountable just the same. Pulling over and yielding the right of way to a firefighter with flashing green lights is merely a courtesy, and will help allow the firefighter to get to the station or scene during an emergency call quickly.
Keep and eye out for these signs around the Town of Bancroft, neighbouring municipalities, and across Ontario.
For more information, check out “A Lesson in Flashing Lights,” an excellent article on the Durham Region website. Also this article from CBC Windsor.