White Lights Only for Iowa Ambulances?

[bmd224]

I was told yesterday that ambulances in Iowa will be running flashing white lights ONLY by July this year (2016). That's right, no red, blue or Amber flashing warning lights will be on ambulances anymore. (Wtf!?!)
Can anyone confirm?
If so, I wonder how I can get my hands on the large amount of used red & blue Whelen M7s, M9s, 700 & 900 series lights that will be hitting the used marketplaces soon.
By the way, volunteer firefighters are only allowed to run blue lights to fire calls, but if they respond to medical calls they will only be allowed to run flashing white lights. Thus they'll need two sets of lights (or duo type lights) & can only run that type of light dependent on the type of call. Bizarre! God forbid what they would do for a patient who is actively seizing, causes a car crash & resulting car fire, & is still actively seizing.
Maybe they'll just switch on purple lights (mortuary) since they were too busy trying to figure out if they needed to run blue or white to the scene.

 

[tsquale]

I think you're source is confused. State code requires that it has at least one white flashing light, not that they all be white lights.

I just attempted a search of the code and other sources and none state that only white is allowed...

 

[firemedic10584]

To be NFPA compliant they must not have any rear facing white lights...so I'd like to see how they remain NFPA compliant if they were to actually go all white lights

 

[bmd224]

The person who told me is Jason Perkins, an emergency lighting salesman in SW Iowa.

 

[MRFD715]

EMS personnel are allowed to use white as a courtesy light in their POV, no other colors. There has been nothing sent to our department from the State on any changes. I'm not sure how they could make it work anyway, NFPA being one reason, cost another, and our EMS rig responds as a Fire rig as well. I think someone has inorrect information(I hope it's not me!)

 

[kd0giz]

I was told yesterday that ambulances in Iowa will be running flashing white lights ONLY by July this year (2016). That's right, no red, blue or Amber flashing warning lights will be on ambulances anymore. (Wtf!?!)
Can anyone confirm?
If so, I wonder how I can get my hands on the large amount of used red & blue Whelen M7s, M9s, 700 & 900 series lights that will be hitting the used marketplaces soon.
By the way, volunteer firefighters are only allowed to run blue lights to fire calls, but if they respond to medical calls they will only be allowed to run flashing white lights. Thus they'll need two sets of lights (or duo type lights) & can only run that type of light dependent on the type of call. Bizarre! God forbid what they would do for a patient who is actively seizing, causes a car crash & resulting car fire, & is still actively seizing.
Maybe they'll just switch on purple lights (mortuary) since they were too busy trying to figure out if they needed to run blue or white to the scene.

Ok, some clarification here for you. There has been no change to the vehicle code in regards to lighting for some years now.

Red lights are reserved for Emergency vehicles, tow trucks responding to a police controlled incident, and believe it or not there is still an allowance for hearses.

White lights if used by themselves are reserved for members of volunteer EMS only services with a permit from the service director, president, etc. Whites are also usable by Emergency Vehicles in ANY position (though may not be NFPA or KKK compliant but these are only Federal standards...)

Blue lighting is for the members of a Volunteer Fire Dept with the permit form the chief. Also can be used by any Emergency Vehicle (LE must have blue on passenger side only)

Last I checked there hasn't been any planned changes or anything submitted to Des Moines changing the vehicle lighting codes. So, if you are responding as a member of a Fire Dept to a medical call you are still going to use blue. The color of your lighting is entirely dependent on the service you belong to. Not the type of call.

 

[tuckerm]

To be NFPA compliant they must not have any rear facing white lights...so I'd like to see how they remain NFPA compliant if they were to actually go all white lights

NFPA isn't law...

 

[JohnMarcson]

NFPA isn't law...

NFPA is just one commercially available standard that is used frequently in civil litigation. If state law demands something non-NFPA, it's going to trump NFPA adoptable standards for the end user. Does that make it a good idea? Of course not. The fact that state law goes against common accepted practice is a whole different issue.

 

[bmd224]

Guys & gals, thank you for your input. I knew members here would know the truth. It seems my source was wrong, & thus I was wrong.