lafd55 said:
People seem to move just fine for FDNY and a lot of the time they tape the manual and do not have a constant siren blare... I'm sure when they hit heavy traffic they lay on the hyper yelp and air horns...
Their department SOP and city/state laws support their "attempt" at reduction of noise pollution. In a heavy urban area such as NYC the performance of sirens also changes due to the acoustics caused by the city environment.
For all the manual siren use their chiefs use, they might as well just turn it to wail/yelp and leave it there.
dusty said:
What kind of job do you have that lets you respond code in so many different jurisdictions? Just because YOU refuse to do something doesn't make it the wrong thing to do, never mind the fact that sirens must be on by law in many areas. And just because you might have a certain experience, doesn't mean it's true all over and for everyone.
Ding. We have a winner.
My department has 3 "codes". Red, Yellow, Green. Green is return to station, so that's pretty obvious you ain't running lights. a Code Yellow response is dictated by type of call and/or request of the individual calling in, and is simply responding with no lights or siren. Code Red is our standard response, which is lights and siren.
My take?
I am operating either a 48,000 lb apparatus with 6 firefighters inside, or a 68,000 lb apparatus with 2 firefighters inside. If I am responding there is a necessity for either of these apparatus and the attendant personnel who man the apparatus, to arrive at the scene. As such, in compliance with state
law, department policy, and my personal decision as the apparatus operator.... I'll have all my blinky lights on and I will be making noise.... sometimes even if a code yellow is requested against our standard response protocols... You don't tell me you had a car wreck with a bicyclist on a highway and expect me to actually go code yellow.
Cross streets I know from living in the area to have people that stop late or don't stop for the stopsigns? Heavy air horn, pattern change on the siren.
Cross streets with vehicles at them? Light air horn, pattern change.
Coming up to a controlled intersection? Pattern change, air horn varying if I have to take oncoming or if the opticom worked.
Guess what happens if you're running lights, no siren, and you get the perfect storm of a responding apparatus, a 2 way stop on a 4 way intersection, A civilian, and a blind corner? You now have an out of commission apparatus, a new incident to respond to, and a lawsuit you'll lose... all of which mean your choice to "run silent" now cost you most likely your position, the taxpayers the protection from that apparatus thats now out of commission, and the taxpayers the bill for all associated fees/judgements/medical costs.
Never mind the cost of life. The bumper on my engine protrudes far enough that if I was in a head on collision with a standard passenger car from ANY direction, I will be impinging with it onto the passenger compartment enough to impact passengers directly. I will do everything within my power to include responding more slowly if the terrain, traffic, or weather requires me to do so. One such example is having to respond in all wheel drive with chains on with my engine. I can only do 35 with chains. If I have to be using chains, even driving 35 MPH, I'll be running my siren on wail just because everyone else that SHOULD be chained up (or just staying home) won't be and all the warning I can get so they stop SLIDING when they try to pull over, means they won't ten point my purty Pierce.
I'll respond as quickly and safely as possible to emergency scenes. That means running my lights and sirens if I need to run "red".
Now do I quiet it down as possible at night with low traffic? Yes. I run the Q on manual, and wind it up as necessary. Thats the nice thing about Q's both electronic and mechanical. You can vary how loud you want to be more readily than compared to other siren models. Still, if the call calls for a "Red" response, I'm going to be using some sort of audible warning in combination with my lights.