Use of Lights / Sirens

[MMiz]

I saw this in another post, and I thought it was a great topic.

In my county we're dispatched Priority 1, 2, or 3. 1 is the highest, 3, the lowest. 1 and possibly 2 allow a unit to use RLS (Red Lights / Sirens).

I was always taught that the lights and sirens always go together. It is weird though responding to a call at 3 AM with a car or two on the road in the suburbs, I have a tendency to want to turn the sirens off. We have 2-4 lane roads intersecting the city in mile increments. On those I have no problem using hte siren, but as we pull into the subdivision or whatnot, I feel it is just respectful to turn the siren off, as it's almost never needed. My partner on the other hand keeps it on at all times, are rarely stops using the airhorn.

Once on scene I keep the lighbars running, or if im in a subdivision, I'll turn the top one off.

I'm wondering what you guys do. Do you have deparment, county, or state protocols for the use of lights and sirens. I find that many fire departments are allowed to use them more freely than use private companies.

 

[ffemt8978]

Originally posted by MMiz@Jun 27 2004, 12:19 AM
I was always taught that the lights and sirens always go together. It is weird though responding to a call at 3 AM with a car or two on the road in the suburbs, I have a tendency to want to turn the sirens off. We have 2-4 lane roads intersecting the city in mile increments. On those I have no problem using hte siren, but as we pull into the subdivision or whatnot, I feel it is just respectful to turn the siren off, as it's almost never needed. My partner on the other hand keeps it on at all times, are rarely stops using the airhorn.

Once on scene I keep the lighbars running, or if im in a subdivision, I'll turn the top one off.

So was I. In South Dakota, it was actually against the law to run lights and no sirens. I think it should be up to the driver to determine if lights and sirens are necessary, since each response is different.

As far as leaving the lights on when on scene, we always do that and I agree with it. First off, it's a great way to mark your location for other responding units (including law enforcement) if you need them. Secondly, we don't always park in a parking space, so it keeps our vehicle from getting hit (hopefully).

 

[rescuecpt]

My FD Ambulance runs:

Code 3 (no lights, no sirens - patient is stable and we are just a glorified taxi),

Code 2 (lights, sirens as necessary for safety - patient is potentially unstable, be prepared to stop for defib or to step it up to Code 1),

Code 1 (lights & sirens, OPTICON strobe - the **** has hit the fan and we need to get to the hospital before we get showered with it!)

 

[TKO]

On emergency transfers say its from one city to another we only use lites on the highway until we approach behind a vehicle and we may give a warning siren to let them know we are comming. In the city if it is a neighborhood at 3 am it is just common sense not to use your sirens. You really dont want the attention that the sirens will produce and you will be waking everyone up. I can understand if your protocol makes you. On scene to a emerg call I usually leave the lites on too. We call our lites and siren code 4 and no lites or siren is code 2. A different company I worked for we called no lite/siren Alpha, then lites/siren Bravo and Charlie or Delta depending on wat the dispatcher says.

 

[ffemt8978]

Originally posted by TKO@Jun 27 2004, 04:21 PM
On emergency transfers say its from one city to another we only use lites on the highway until we approach behind a vehicle and we may give a warning siren to let them know we are comming. In the city if it is a neighborhood at 3 am it is just common sense not to use your sirens. You really dont want the attention that the sirens will produce and you will be waking everyone up. I can understand if your protocol makes you. On scene to a emerg call I usually leave the lites on too. We call our lites and siren code 4 and no lites or siren is code 2. A different company I worked for we called no lite/siren Alpha, then lites/siren Bravo and Charlie or Delta depending on wat the dispatcher says.

That's a good point about using the siren on the highway. Most agencies I know of don't use them either, unless they are in heavy traffic. Let's face, you basically outdrive the effectiveness of your siren at approximately 65 mph, so it's useless.

As far as lights go, I think that the headlight flashers on most emergency vehicles nowdays can be noticed from a lot farther away than any lightbar made. I do know for a fact that they can be seen from over 1 mile away, day or night.

 

[SafetyPro2]

We always respond Code 3 (lights and sirens) to medical calls unless specifically dispatched as a Code 2 (no lights and sirens), which is rare and is generally only when specifically requested by the calling party.

After 11 PM, we'll generally not use the siren unless there's traffic. Our city is mostly residential and has all manual stops (no signals). Highest speed limit is 35 MPH.

The patient care EMT makes the determination whether the transport should be Code 2 or Code 3. Generally, we only do a Code 3 transport under the following circumstances:

Cardiac or respiratory arrest
Severe respiratory distress
Uncontrolled hemorrhaging
Severe trauma
Possible internal injury
Other life-threatening conditions

In California, lights and sirens are generally NOT used on freeways/highways. Police will use them to pull someone over, in a pursuit situation or occasionally during a response. Fire/EMS are generally discouraged from using them except as warning lights at a scene or when trying to get through heavy traffic (such as at an accident scene).

 

[cbdemt]

Our Dept always responds lights / sirens, except for rare occasions when we are told by dispatch to "go quiet". This usually only happens for suicide attempts, domestic violence, etc. Our chief says it has something to do with insurance and liability??

 

[rescuecpt]

I just don't trust the information chain - what dispatch says is rarely what I find - take my Bravo AMS on Saturday which should have been a Charlie or Delta Overdose.

Unless it's domestic or suicide, it's lights & sirens because I don't know what may or may not be waiting for me, but why take the chance. Of course, we still drive safely, even with lights & sirens, cuz a dead rescuer helps no one.

 

[citizencain20]

Always Lights and Sirens, Except if we are requested to respond non 10-33. Otherwise, it seems to be SOP to always go lights and sirens...even at 3:00 A.M.