When we got out new truck it came with amber lights to the rear. We asked Pierce to remove them and replace with red and they had us sign a nfpa waiver.
Taylor, if NFPA dosent require the amber lights on the rear, who is it?
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No one requires amber on the rear, actually. NFPA 1901 calls for a certain amount of lumens from each lighthead and/or zone on the vehicle. Amber is typically used because:
Amber is brighter than red, therefore less amber lightheads will give you the same lumens as more red.
Amber is conveys a "slow down" or "caution" message.
As for the departments that had to sign a waiver, likely this was because the rig was spec'd and built with amber (which met the NFPA lumens requirements), but when a red lighthead was substituted after the contract had been signed, it didn't produce enough light for that zone to meet the standard, so the waiver had to be signed before it could leave the factory.
There have been plenty of rigs delivered with no amber on the back since the new 2001 NFPA revision on optical warning devices took place, they simply had to meet the standard for the amount of light given off by each red (or blue) bulb or lighthead. On the other hand, Midway, VA took delivery of a tanker with ONLY amber on the back.
Taylor Goodman Captain - Henrico County (VA) Division of Fire Fire Chief - Huguenot VFD, Powhatan, VA
I know when we speced our engine about three years ago there was NO mention of light color in 1901, and we didn't have to sign a waiver for not having amber lights on the rear. As Roto-Ray stated, Amber is supposed to conveys a message of "Warning" or "Slow Down" but much like a traffic light, no matter what color you use people still go the speed limit (+/- 10 MPH) by the rig.
As for who requires abmber lights, the FAA does require amber rotators on vehicle that "normally operate on the runways or taxiways" (this comes from the mouth of a friend of mine who is an air traffic controller). Like Photo 5 said, they show up better in the fog. Not sure if this is the reasoning for the lights on the TAU or not, but that is the info that I have.
02-05-2011, 10:42 AM (This post was last modified: 02-05-2011, 10:43 AM by resqguy.)
It's really funny that 2 lights on the back of the TAU stirred this much discussion but nobody noticed that it is the only vehicle in the city that has "Fire Department" door seals or a Whelen Centurion rotator lightbar?
It's really funny that 2 lights on the back of the TAU stirred this much discussion but nobody noticed that it is the only vehicle in the city that has "Fire Department" door seals or a Whelen Centurion rotator lightbar?
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And do you know who put those Seals on <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/shrug.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
Cosgr <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/stirpot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> ve
[color="#ff0000"][size="4"]Get In, Sit Down, Hold On and Shut Up[/size][/color]
Is the color or contrast on these pics tweaked or are they really gonna be... orange?
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They look that color due to the lighting where the images were taken. I just spoke to someone who's department recently received a Pierce, and he said the same thing occurred when they took pics of the rig they got when it was in that same area of their facility.
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