Fire Lights: Alerting The World Day And Night
Fire lights are the bright LED lights that signal that a fire truck is coming - and for drivers to get out of the way! These lights adorn the trucks on all sides so that no matter where a car is located, he or she knows that there is a fire truck coming. Fire lights also notify bystanders, once the fire truck is stopped, that there is a fire nearby - and that firefighters are working to put it out.
Fire lights come in many different forms, depending on both the location of the light on the truck, as well as its age and location. Fire trucks in different countries have different customary fire lights which their citizens associate with getting out of the fire trucks' - and firefighters' - way. Flashing or strobe lights serve as active visual warnings, and catch drivers' and bystanders' attention. While they could come in any color, they are most often seen in red, blue and occasionally white.
Older fire lights consisted of a light and a rotating mirror to project the flash, contained within a colored lens. These strobe lights could be programmed for a variety of patterns, including which direction the mirror spun and how fast. They were called "rotating beacon lights." Newer lights are made with longer lasting LED materials which also are more energy efficient, and take up less space on the fire truck.
Fire lights, including strobe lights in various colors and different patterns, are used by the fire truck in conjunction with its passive visual cues, such as the markings that denote what fire company the truck is from, and what equipment it carries. Strobe lights are also used by other emergency vehicles, such as police cars, fire chief cars (which look similar to police cars but are used to transport the fire chief to the scene of two and three alarm fires, which are those fires that have grown so large that they require additional resources to fight them).
Fire lights are also used on personal vehicles by firefighters - especially members of volunteer fire companies - so that when a dispatcher notifies them via radio that there is a fire they are able to get to the fire house quickly. While volunteer fire companies have volunteer crews on call at all times, if fires grow larger, additional trucks may be necessary, and so when a call is dispatched, volunteers often rush to the firehouse to put on their turnout gear (boots, jacket, and helmet), hop on the truck, and go fight the fire.
