Some Halifax streets impassable for firefighters

Halifax – Maneuvering a fire truck, some up to 42-feet-long, around streets in Halifax, can be tricky at the best of times.

Add snow, ice, and a lot of illegally parked cars, and it is a tight squeeze for fire trucks to get through. In fact, dozens of streets in the city are now becoming impassible for firefighters.

“If you are dialing 911 and you want us there, we need to get there,” says Deputy Chief Roy Hollet, Halifax Fire Service.

Some streets are so narrow, fire trucks actually can’t fit down them, meaning precious time is being lost finding other parking during an emergency situation, where every second counts.

“Look where you are parking and if you think your car is in the way, if you’re thinking that, it probably is,” Hollet says, Make sure your in a legal parking spot.”

From vehicles making their own parking spots, to being way too far away from the curb, fire officials have heard every excuse in the book from drivers about why they’re illegally parked. “What I hear quite a bit is, it’s only going to be two minutes, well in that two minuets a lot can happen, so if you can guarantee me that nothing will happen in that two minutes, than I want your crystal ball.”

Halifax Fire & Emergency is looking to have the municipality place no-parking signs along one side of 53 streets in the municipality, until snow banks can be pushed back enough to make room for both parking and emergency vehicles.

“We don’t want to inconvenience the public, but they don’t want to inconvenience us if they want us at an emergency.”