When Mark Veenstra got his first call as a volunteer firefighter, the farmer raced to his car, turned on the flashing green light mounted on his dash, and headed straight for the fire hall.
The flashing green light is a signal volunteer firefighters use to alert other drivers to give way while on a call for a fire.
The only problem is, not many people know about it. And as Hamilton sprawls outwards, regions such as Binbrook, Stoney Creek and Waterdown are seeing more motorists who don't move out of the way.
'Ultimately, it's your own derrière.'- Mark Veenstra, volunteer firefighter, on bending the rules of the road
"It is a bit of a problem," Veenstra said. "The green lights don't allow to bend the rules of the road… It's just to say, 'Hey, if you wouldn't mind driving over to the side of the road and let us pass.'"
Veenstra runs a farm in Troy, and is on his first year as a volunteer firefighter. He's not the only one who thinks the lack of awareness is a problem.
Hamilton Fire has some 250 volunteer fire fighters on call and they serve areas closer than one might think, like Waterdown and Binbrook.
Ancaster, for example, is made up of a hybrid crew of full-time and part-time (volunteer) firefighters, explained Hamilton Fire spokesperson Claudio Mostacci.
While Hamilton Fire has not been "inundated" by calls asking what the flashing green lights mean, they have had a few.
"We have received calls from the public as people move in to the expansion that's been going on in Binbrook," Mostacci said. "You're going to get people that have never been exposed to it, seeing the green light."
For Veenstra, it was a situation he encountered on his first call.
"The first fire I every responded on," said Troy "I pulled up behind somebody on 4th Concession (Road). ... This person was just kind of puttering along."
It took a neighbour waving at the driver to get off the road for the person to pull over and let Veenstra pass.
Veenstra said communities have used the social media tag, #SecondsCount, to try make urban motorists more aware of what the green light means.
The hashtag is used to remind people to make way for firefighters in other ways, too — like clearing the snow around hydrants.
The flashing green light has been around long for at least 20 years, when it was inserted into the Highway Traffic Act in Ontario, said Dave Thompson, director of the Canadian Volunteer Fire Association.
The green light doesn't allow volunteers to put the petal to the metal, Thompson said, but rather "it asks for courtesy to give way."
Veenstra said other firefighters may bend the rules with the light flashing to respond to a fire, but that if they get in an accident while responding, they will still be responsible.
"Ultimately, it's your own derrière," Veenstra said.
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