Back to basics: Desensitizing firefighters – Red-light syndrome

In our last column for 2024, we are wrapping up our topic of desensitizing firefighters with a look at the red-light syndrome. This is where fire trucks drive right through red lights or stop signs as they respond to a call. 

When a 911 call comes in and the fire department is dispatched to respond, the personnel who are responding have the choice to act in a professional and structured manner, or adopt a freelance approach and cause issues as a result. 

Statistics are collected each year on the number of firefighter injuries and fatalities that occur on the job. The best place to review these types of statistics is the NFPA, which produces annual reports on these topics. Their latest report, which was published in 2024 but uses data collected in 2023, reported that 19 firefighters in the United States died while responding to or returning from an incident. This accounted for 21 per cent of the Line of Duty Deaths in the country that year.

In 2022, there were approximately 20,300 collisions involving fire department emergency vehicles that were responding to or returning from an incident, resulting in an estimated 800 injuries. Firefighters responding to an incident in their personal vehicles led to another 925 collisions, resulting in approximately 250 injuries. 

Canada’s population is about 10 per cent of the United States, with the U.S. coming in at 330 million people to our 30 million. So, when looking at these statistics on driving incidents in the United States, it is important to note these higher numbers are partially driven by a larger population that requires more fire departments and will produce more responding vehicles on the roads.

The NFPA statistics do not break down the cause of these driving incidents, such as driving through an intersection or not stopping at a red light, but we can glean some useful information from them on this topic. For our purposes and focusing on the red-light syndrome, we need to look at situations where the fire apparatus does not come to a complete stop at the red light before proceeding. 

When these conditions have been met, along with the previous requirements, the Highway Traffic Act permits emergency vehicles to proceed through red lights and stop signs.

All highway traffic acts in Canadian provinces and territories will prohibit driving through a red light or stop sign. The acts require each driver to make a complete stop at the line, whether for a red light or a stop sign and then proceed through the intersection only when the light indicates it is safe or, in the case of a stop sign, the way is clear to proceed from all directions. 

Most highway traffic acts provide an exemption or allowance for responding emergency vehicles. An emergency vehicle can proceed through a red light or stop sign when responding to an emergency call. However, a few conditions must be met and adhered to for the emergency vehicle to be exempt from stopping. 

The first condition is to come to a complete stop, regardless of whether it is a red light or a stop sign. Coming to a complete stop allows the driver to look both ways, check the intersection, and ensure that all traffic has stopped in all directions. 

The next condition is that all warning lights and sirens must be turned on and working. The warning lights and sirens indicate to the other drivers that an emergency vehicle is responding to an incident and needs to get to the location as quickly as possible. When other drivers hear the sirens and see the warning lights, they are required by law to pull over to the right and come to a stop. This opens up the intersections and roadways so the responding vehicle can proceed safely. 

The last condition requires the driver to proceed with caution only when it is safe to do so. The driver of the responding emergency vehicle must confirm that all traffic is stopped, no other vehicles are moving in the opposite direction, and that the intersection is clear to cross through. When these conditions have been met, along with the previous requirements, the Highway Traffic Act permits emergency vehicles to proceed through red lights and stop signs.

Some fire departments require the driver to stop at each white dotted line of the lane to ensure that it is clear to advance to the dotted line of the next lane, and so on, until they have cleared the entire intersection. This certainly adheres to the Highway Traffic Act provisions. 

When it comes to personal vehicles responding to an emergency call, whether they are driving to the scene or driving to the station to get on a truck, the exemptions of the Highway Traffic Act do not apply to them. They must obey all the provisions of the act regardless of where they are driving.  

Mark van der Feyst has been in the fire service since 1999 and is currently a Battalion Chief with the Six Nations Fire & Emergency Services as well  as a part-time firefighter with the Fort Gratiot Fire Department. Mark is an international instructor teaching in Canada, the United States and India, and at FDIC. He is the lead author of the Residential Fire Rescue & Tactical Firefighter  books. He can be contacted at Mark@FireStarTraining.com.