The first time that I was nearly injured on a fire scene came not too long after I joined the Fire Department. I’d like to tell you that it was a brave and heroic event filled with tales of great danger and a blazing inferno, sadly, I cannot.
In the midst of a thunderstorm we were called to respond to a transformer on fire on the edge of town. It’s not an uncommon occurrence. Lightning seems to like striking transformers, or so I’ve come to learn over the years.
At such a fire there really isn’t too much we can do. After all, it doesn’t take a trained Firefighter to know that spraying charged power lines with a hose is not exactly the way to a healthy, prosperous and long life. On the other hand, if you’re interested in discovering just what it would feel like to experience the electric chair, or live out your remaining days as a charcoal briquette, by all means… spray away!
On this particular scene I was on traffic control. We blocked off a single lane of traffic with our trucks, and wanted to keep the area closest to the hydro pole secure, in the event the wires would let go or the lines would arc. As I stood on the side of the road in my gear with reflective stripes and a large flashlight for extra visibility, I guided vehicles through the scene.
Everything was going rather smoothly until one individual, whom was more fascinated, I can only assume, with the flashing lights and fire trucks than they were with me and my traffic signals, decided to blow through the scene. In order to prevent myself from being hit, I quite literally had to dive into the ditch. To say I was annoyed, would be somewhat of an understatement.
Today I was in the Post Office in town and a group of people were gathered, because in a small town apparently this is where people hang out, discussing a recent blitz by the O.P.P. For this particular blitz, they were parking their cruisers on the side of the road with their emergency lights activated. In Ontario, the Highway Traffic act states, quite clearly I might add, that when you approach a scene with an emergency vehicle on the side of the road with it’s lights on, you are to move over one lane. It’s all in the name of safety, and, it should be common sense! If you fail to yield the lane, you can be fined. I believe the fine is $490 and you can lose 3 demerit points.
On this blitz, the O.P.P. charged nearly 80 people for failing to yield the lane. I don’t believe it an exaggeration to say that drivers failing to do so are putting lives at danger! The group of people gathered at the Post Office, however, felt differently. They were entirely disgusted with the O.P.P. and their “money grabbing tactics.”
As a Firefighter, and as one who has had to jump out of the way of a vehicle not paying attention driving through a scene, I commend the O.P.P. for running this blitz, charging that many people, and hopefully, driving home a point about safety!
When faced with an emergency vehicle, it’s quite simple. Get out of the way! If they are coming up behind you, pull over! If they are coming towards you, pull over! If they’re on the side of the road, give them a lane of space… pull over! Help us do our job, and help us do it safely! It could be you we’re helping one day!
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