Narrow streets impacting emergency response times says fire station captain
Large snow banks and parked vehicles have left city streets more narrow than usual, making it difficult for fire trucks to pass through and allow crews to do their jobs.
That according to Station 3 Captain Stephen Koch who says this can have a big impact response times.
He told NEWS 95.7 fire truck drivers have to slow down in order to avoid hitting double parked vehicles.
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“When we slow down, it's a longer response time,” he said. “If we're looking at a cardiac arrest or a fire where it can exponentially grow within minutes and seconds, it can have a huge effect.”
The narrow streets have already impacted fire operations. Koch says fire crews had to take a detour while on route to an active fire Friday.
“We couldn't get down Agricola Street so then we had to do a detour to another street that would have got us there quicker,” said Koch. “We had to take a detour of an extra kilometer or kilometer and a half just to get to something half a click away.”
He recommends drivers park as close to snow banks as possible, avoid double parking and if possible, avoid parking on narrow streets altogether.
