While motorists are well aware of the urgency of pulling over for flashing blue and red emergency lights, some might not be as familiar with flashing green lights.
About a year ago, the Sundre Fire Department issued flashing green lights to all of its volunteer firefighters, to be used in their own personal vehicles when responding to the fire hall during an emergency.
Although fire Chief Marty Butts told the Round Up local motorists have since then largely seemed to comply by accommodating responders who are attempting to reach the hall as quickly as possible, he said there have been a few instances in which firefighters were delayed by drivers who failed to pull over.
"I've heard maybe one or two stories of people not really pulling over," he told the Round Up during a phone interview.
Such cases could be the result of a motorist simply not noticing the flashing green lights in his or her rear-view mirror, although there is also the possibility that the odd driver does not care, he said.
"When that happens, it delays our response out to the hall."
If drivers do observe a vehicle coming up from behind with green flashing lights, the fire chief encourages them to pull over.
"It only takes two seconds to let somebody by," he said.
"Depending on the nature of the call they're going to, those seconds can turn into minutes and alter the outcome of the call."
The Sundre Fire Department does not deploy any of its apparatuses with an incomplete crew, he said.
"I don't like seeing our trucks roll out with one or two members," he said.
"We need a full crew before the truck can roll."
So if one member is held up ó even if only momentarily ó the rest of the crew potentially ends up waiting as well, he said.
"That little delay might not seem like much, but it's delaying the whole truck."
Although the flashing green emergency lights do not give responding volunteer firefighters the authority to speed, or run through red lights or stop signs, they are a useful tool that nevertheless helps to shave seconds off of response times, which is especially important for critical calls such as heart attacks, structure fires and motor vehicle collisions, he said.
There are signs at each entrance to Sundre that give drivers notice, and the chief expressed his gratitude for everyone who has accommodated his volunteer firefighters since the flashing green lights were introduced last year.
"And the people who are having the worst day of their life will appreciate it too."
