EMERGENCY VEHICLE RESPONSE PILOT PROGRAM
The Burlington Fire Department’s Emergency Vehicle Response Pilot Program aims to protect both firefighters and members of the community from potential high-speed traffic collisions by reducing the speed at which fire trucks travel. Collisions with fire trucks can result in injury or death to both firefighters and members of the public.
The Emergency Vehicle Response Pilot Program runs from June 1 to September 30 of this year and is under continuous review to ensure emergency response times are not affected.
The pilot program
- Helps fire trucks use Opticom system that changes red lights to green by moving at the speed limit or with the flow of traffic
- Aims to reduce a 60 per cent increase in collisions involving Burlington fire vehicles in the past five years
Halifax and Woodstock have driver safety programs in place, and Calgary is considering a similar policy. In 1999, Halifax Fire and Emergency introduced a program to slow down its fire trucks following a collision that killed a mother and injured her daughter
A great deal of consultation took place with fire department staff to develop the Emergency Vehicle Response Pilot Program. City Council will review the results of the pilot program in fall 2008.
- Questions and answers
- Fire truck collision presentation (PDF)
- Media release
- Letter in the Burlington Post and Hamilton Spectator