Fire Fighter Blue Lights?

[sloughfoot]

My favorite video about volunteer fire fighters. Turn the volume up

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4y-RzVGrHg&feature=relmfu[/ame]

 

[bluewraith]

My favorite video about volunteer fire fighters. Turn the volume up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4y-RzVGrHg&feature=relmfu

I'm kind of partial to this one for a few reasons.. Its the department I'm on, I made the video, and its not Nickleback.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOAjpLQFjP4[/ame]

 

[sadclownwp]

I went with the new Starburst Mini Phantom from Sirennet.

I wish the camera on my phone could do these lights justice.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mM4FLzZiX4

 

[nox]

Turn the volume up

Seriously, why would you do that to us? I thought we were all friends here.

 

[CPT Nervous]

I have WOLO Lightening in the headlights and tail lights. XK Glow in the reverse lights. I used Vortex lightbars for the visor and rear window.

BTW, I am not VFD. I have White/Amber on the front and sides, and White/Amber/Red in back.

Get a good blue lightbar, then I'd say supplement with XK Glow. You can get a good set cheap, LEDs, and they have a good flasher included. They're cheap, but easy to install, and they last. Not as good as Whelen or Wolo, but they will improve your set up.

 

[sadclownwp]

yeah sometime I will get lights for the rear of my car, but the Mini Phantom will do for now.

 

[CPT Nervous]

Good for traffic control. Can't hurt to put an inexpensive set in, just to supplement your main bar. I have a really good set up, and I paid about $550 for the whole thing. I have lights 360, and they're bright. I'll put up a video, when I make one.

 

[MedicMonty]

Don't take this the wrong way at all.... but if you want my honest suggestion, mine is not to bother with lights. I did it for years when I first joined the fire service but the more I listened to the older & wiser folks around me, the more I realized it's really a waste of time and money. Yeah, they look cool, but unless you find yourself in the traffic flow regularly WITHOUT any apparatus there, they really don't do much good. Reasons why:

1) You can't (legally) go any faster, or disregard traffic control devices, so it shouldn't improve response time. Running several hundred dollars worth of lights looks dumb when you're sitting at the stoplight.
2) People just don't pay attention to them. Whether they don't know what to do or don't care, it simply doesn't help.
3) The number of calls for which the 2-3 minutes you might save if you choose to break the law and drive faster than you should is a very small fraction, if any.
4) Regardless of how experienced or mature a person is, having lights and/or a siren (permitted on POV's in other states) on your vehicle encourages you to drive differently (read: dangerously). Simple psychology. Not a good combination - just google "volunteer crashed driving to call fatality" and you'll get several results for any year you look at (or visit Fire Fighter Close Calls.com - they keep pretty good track). And it's even worse/more likely if you're also new to the fire service.
5) Insurance liability/exposure/cost. Remember that even if you do everything right, you lose control or someone hits YOU while that light is on, there will be a circus and it will end up being your fault, rightfully so or not. Not to mention, your insurance provider is likely to say it was an "uncovered use" of the vehicle and in fact, many insurance companies will refuse to cover you at all if they find out you have a blue light. Your department may or may not have any coverage for you (likely not).

Sorry to be a stick in the mud and of course, YMMV. Just do yourself a favor and think seriously about pros and cons and whether to spend that $200 on lights or something else, like a nice bail-out kit or toward a two-way radio that may very well save your life. Stay safe.

 

[actaeon277]

Don't take this the wrong way at all.... but if you want my honest suggestion, mine is not to bother with lights. I did it for years when I first joined the fire service but the more I listened to the older & wiser folks around me, the more I realized it's really a waste of time and money. Yeah, they look cool, but unless you find yourself in the traffic flow regularly WITHOUT any apparatus there, they really don't do much good. Reasons why:

1) You can't (legally) go any faster, or disregard traffic control devices, so it shouldn't improve response time. Running several hundred dollars worth of lights looks dumb when you're sitting at the stoplight.
2) People just don't pay attention to them. Whether they don't know what to do or don't care, it simply doesn't help.
3) The number of calls for which the 2-3 minutes you might save if you choose to break the law and drive faster than you should is a very small fraction, if any.
4) Regardless of how experienced or mature a person is, having lights and/or a siren (permitted on POV's in other states) on your vehicle encourages you to drive differently (read: dangerously). Simple psychology. Not a good combination - just google "volunteer crashed driving to call fatality" and you'll get several results for any year you look at (or visit Fire Fighter Close Calls.com - they keep pretty good track). And it's even worse/more likely if you're also new to the fire service.
5) Insurance liability/exposure/cost. Remember that even if you do everything right, you lose control or someone hits YOU while that light is on, there will be a circus and it will end up being your fault, rightfully so or not. Not to mention, your insurance provider is likely to say it was an "uncovered use" of the vehicle and in fact, many insurance companies will refuse to cover you at all if they find out you have a blue light. Your department may or may not have any coverage for you (likely not).

Sorry to be a stick in the mud and of course, YMMV. Just do yourself a favor and think seriously about pros and cons and whether to spend that $200 on lights or something else, like a nice bail-out kit or toward a two-way radio that may very well save your life. Stay safe.

You're partially right.
Some people, maybe even most people, don't pay attention.
I do.
And, usually if you can get 1 or 2 people to pull over, more will follow the example.
Stay safe.

 

[IndyGunworks]

My favorite video about volunteer fire fighters. Turn the volume up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4y-RzVGrHg&feature=relmfu

That video is not about volunteers. Its actually about career wildland firefighters. The way he was called up is pretty standard for the way those guys full time employment work. and they get paid pretty decent between 40 and 75,000 depending on how many callouts they do. and as with anything else hollywood related, there are so many things untrue to firefighting in that video you can tell it was made by someone just trying to make a buck.

 

[sadclownwp]

We had a 7 acre brush fire yesterday, that Blue Light worked like a champ for me, people got out of my way. It was awesome, I made a truck instead of a tanker.

 

[sadclownwp]

galls is ok, but Sirennet is where it is at

 

[billcollector]

Check out Galls and also AW Direct. they always have clearance items. I would lead you to LED as they are better for day time than the halogens of the past.

I think i have a mixture in my SUV. I have some small Blue lights in my back windows from AW Direct (about $100 for both no stobe unit needed). Front window i have 2 Whelen light bars, one is the mini and i cannot remember the other.