Yikes! There’s a Fire Truck Behind Me!

Engine 14-1, the attack pumper (center), flanked by engine 14-2 (right) and tower 14. The photo was taken with a 12-mm fisheye lens. The photographer, Andy Shelter, writes, “The trucks were all parked normally. It’s just the lens that makes it look that way.” Photo: Andy Shelter

Sirens blaring and all! Oh gosh, what should I do?!? 

If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing to do is to not panic. Then — as driving schools teach, and many people know — you should slow down and pull over to the side of the road. Most of the main roads in Swarthmore are wide enough that pulling over is sufficient. If the road is very narrow, or there’s no place to pull over, your best bet is to continue forward until you can turn into someone’s driveway or into the next street.

When responding to emergencies, the Swarthmore Fire Department uses several pre-determined routes that keep to the wide streets. and avoid the railroad crossing and areas that might be congested. (You can easily imagine how much lowered railroad crossing gates or traffic congestion will delay response time.)

The roundabout, the train station curve, and the corner of Lafayette and Dartmouth avenues are areas where it can be challenging for fire trucks to navigate around other vehicles. 

If you find yourself in the roundabout when an emergency vehicle is approaching you, the most helpful thing to do is to get out of its way by taking the next exit, even if it’s not your intended exit. The emergency vehicles usually exit the roundabout at Route 320 North or Route 320 South. If you take one of the exits into the business district, you can easily turn around in the inn’s parking lot or circle around past the train station. 

(Cars instead sometimes completely stop in the roundabout, unsure what they should do. This makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass. Although they can use the concrete ring inside the asphalt roadway as an extra lane, this is not optimal: it’s a tighter turn and the vehicle must go slower.) 

Another frequent chokepoint is the entrance to the roundabout from the train station, because it is only wide enough for one vehicle. When emergency vehicles are trying to enter the roundabout there, they often come up behind stopped cars that are also waiting to merge. Sometimes the drivers of these cars understandably think they should simply wait at the merge point when they hear sirens (that is a commonly taught practice). Instead, they should safely keep moving to an area that will allow both emergency vehicles—fire and ambulance—to pass them. Any cars waiting at any of the other entrance points to the roundabout should stay put to allow emergency vehicles to freely enter the roundabout from the train station area.

Please also be careful where you park. When an emergency vehicle leaves the firehouse, it typically turns left onto Dartmouth Avenue. If other vehicles are parked near Central Park (across from the Co-op), this makes the road too narrow for fire trucks to pass other vehicles. It’s also difficult—and sometimes impossible—for fire trucks to negotiate the curve past the train station if any vehicles are parked in non-designated spaces in that area. Although “just hopping out for a sec” or “waiting to pick someone up from the train” is convenient, and often not an issue, there’s always a risk that a fire truck may need to pass. So, please park only in designated parking spaces in that area.

The Swarthmore Fire & Protective Association wishes to respond to all emergency situations as quickly as possible, and you can help us by allowing the safe and speedy passage of emergency vehicles.