Lights or signs for Retained Firefighters

[999ianh]

If you think its time for the Government to give a national recognised light or sign to help other road users to give way to the retained when tiring to get though queues of traffic then please follow link this to the Downing Street Web Site and sign this petition, who knows it might get the ball rolling.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/fireresponse/

[Chris Houston]

It is hard me to know if this is a good idea.  Would the public be expected to move forward through a red light for retained?  Would retained drive faster or take greater risks?  Would be good if the petition made this clear.

Do you think a petition is the best way?  Can people not lobby their MP, could the CFOA not campaign or the union.  What if we disagree, is there a petition for them not to have such lights......

[fearless firefighter fred from fife]

This is a GR8 idea but there are issues with it that need to be considered

Say for instance you are in a 2 pump area or larger and you are trying to reach your station as the 1st pump is trying to respond out YOU will cause "Confusion and Delay" as the road may well be all over the place from an unmarked vehicle shooting trough traffic one way and then a big red fire lorry coming back the other

I have seen these signs on Lifeboat crew vehicles but they are usually only going one way to the lifeboat house and the lifeboat does not travel back along the road


Worth discussing further before it goes to mp's

[nearlythere]

Not good idea. The thought of 20 maniacs driving through the town at speed sends shivers up the back of my neck. Practically all fires are property fires only ie. no life risk, so whats the hurry?
I feel that many supporting this are only looking at it from the testosterone viewpoint.

[firebird]

I'd sign a petition to stop retained getting blue lights or signs! What about the cost, training implications etc. Like nearlythere said, the thought of 20 maniacs driving to the same place at the same time, trying to beat each other is a very scary thought.

[Tom Sutton]

We have had this discussion before check out     http://www.fire.org.uk/punbb/upload/viewtopic.php?id=1480

[Dinnertime Dave]

Only our friends in the retained service can answer this question. Is it a big issue? In my brigade the Area Command team tend to be informed of occurrences when an appliance failed to mobilise within 5 mins. I don`t see may of these. Is it that much different elsewhere?

[nearlythere]

Whilst I don't deny you do get some retained personnel rushing to the station most that Ive worked with stick to the speed limit dont honk their horns or flash their lights

Why do they need a sign then other than to signify to others "Hey, look at me. I'm a firefighter dashing to the station. Don't I look great?"

[Fireguy1230]

Nearlythere,

  I don't know if its intended or not, but i am getting the feeling that you are not too keen on the RDS.

 For the record, we are not maniacs nor are we posers who want people to know who we are and what we are doing. Like yourself ( i am assuming you are wholetime), we are firefighters responding to an emergency call. When i do this my first thought isn't:

 'Jeez, look at me! aren't i a hero!'

 My thought is to get to the station safely and form part of the crew that will be responding to the incident, whether it be a persons reported fire, or a bin alight.

 For the record, i am against some form of light or siren for RDS personnel. Basically because i can imagine there are some people who will abuse it.

[nearlythere]

No. I have the greatest of respect for many of my Rtd colleagues, including you, as I do for many of my WT colleagues. However, there are many who I do not. Thats life.
Certainly your thought is to get to the station safety and the best way to do this is to drive normally. No need for horns and lights then.
Yes, there are some people who will abuse it, without doubt.
I still can't get the the maniacal posing driver, not you of course, out of my mind though.

[Midland Retty]

Whilst I don't deny you do get some retained personnel rushing to the station most that Ive worked with stick to the speed limit dont honk their horns or flash their lights

Why do they need a sign then other than to signify to others "Hey, look at me. I'm a firefighter dashing to the station. Don't I look great?"

Yes well there are whole time as well as retained that like to pose  suggest you read the original thread above for sensible discussion

[nearlythere]

Yep. Read the original thread.
Most people seem to agree with me. Bad idea.

[AnthonyB]

This debate has been around the houses before and parallels a similar petition to Government from ambulance service first responders* to have green lights** to make progress to incidents.

Governments view is 'never'. Ministers have stated they don't want a saturation of blue light or green light users as this will diminish their effectiveness even more than it has already been by modern traffic conditions and drivers. In fact they are legislating to tighten up their use with mandatory minimum training standards on the way (too many blue light crashes & deaths already), thus making it very unlikely a brigade could afford to meet the burden of the impending requirements, & the retained may struggle to find the time to do the courses.

Car stickers and window panels are widely used, but with a few exceptions you won't see blues & twos spreading through RDS & CFR

* volunteers from local communities working for the ambulance service to respond to life threatening emergencies in their local area with oxygen, defibrillators, etc
** green lights are currently restricted to use only by registered medical doctors, and they afford no exemptions - no speeding, going through red lights, etc

[alstew]

The crusty dinosaurs, like me, who had to do the stautory promotion exams will be aware that the vehicle construction and use (Lighting) regulations specifically prohibit the red lights being fitted to the front of a vehicle and white lights being fitted to the rear. This means another law will need to be ammended.

[G]

Heres a better idea. Have all the personel on the station with the machines, then they can turn out in under a minute, and save all this rushing about.

It might even provide a better service to the public.

Imagine that? See i'm not just a pretty face, full of good ideas. Does anyone think the Government would see it in the same light?