About 45 per cent of the calls the Welsford Fire Department responds to are on Highway 7 – the stretch of highway between Fredericton and Saint John, which is considered narrow and winding.
It’s the reason fire Chief David MacCready has had the Haas Alert System installed in the department’s fire apparatuses.
The system has a transponder that sends alerts to the Waze App, Apple Maps and some navigation systems in other vehicles if they are within two kilometres of an active scene involving the fire department. The aim is to make sure other drivers are aware of the presence of firefighters at a scene.
“The majority of our calls are on the roadways and so that was what made our decision for us,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “Highway 7 is a dangerous highway that many drivers know. We’ve had a lot of fatalities and close calls with firefighters.”
While MacCready said there have been no incidents with the fire team, it is always at the back of their minds.
“Firefighters still have to be working near that yellow line in the roadway,” he said.
Crews do respond to calls on the highway in a strategic way, called fend-off positions, placing a fire apparatus or truck between them and the scene.
“Studies conducted by Haas Alert have shown that drivers who employ these systems, who employ these apps, can reduce motor vehicle collisions by 90 per cent,” MacCready said.
He said he’ll be able to track the success of the service over time.
The New Brunswick Association of Fire Chiefs supports the technology.
“And one of our main areas of risk is obviously highway responses where we’re working in or around traffic. This should help to increase the safety of our members,” said Scott Poupart, the president of the NBFC.
He said many manufacturers in the U.S. install it standard in fire apparatuses but it is not commonplace in Atlantic Canada yet.
“This technology is being used in some of the bigger centres … such as Quebec. Usually down here in the Maritimes, it tends to come this way afterwards … so we’re hoping this is going to catch on,” he said,
In New Brunswick, it is required under law to move over and reduce the speed of your vehicle when emergency responders and tow trucks are working along highways.
Failure to do so results in a fine of $292 and three demerit points.
Comments