Editorial
Lisa Dumontier

Forest fire season has come and gone and the Ontario Provincial Police may no longer be patrolling waterways in an effort to prevent boating accidents but that doesn’t mean emergency responders will be kept idle as winter continues to settle in around us. While we can cross our fingers and hope for the best, there will undoubtedly be a chimney fire or two in need of attention and as us northerners already know, icy road conditions and rampant wildlife are sure to lead a vehicle or two astray prompting response from police and ambulance services.

Accidents cannot always be avoided and while I hope that we can all enjoy a safe and joyous holiday season and 2012 in general, I know that cannot realistically occur—it just doesn’t happen that way now does it?

I’m not trying to put a damper on the holiday fêting or jinx us all for an accident-prone New Year I promise. I’d just like you all to stop and consider (even for one minute) the people who will come to your rescue if by chance you find yourself faced with an emergency situation and how, in that situation, they may arrive to assist you.

There’s this whole law about flashing lights and sirens. While it appears that many of you may be unaware—although how that’s happened is anyone’s guess—when a Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) or Ambulance vehicle pulls up behind you or is headed your way in oncoming traffic with lights flashing and sirens blaring, it is your responsibility to pull over and get out of the way. You see, they are trying to get to an emergency as quickly and as safely as possible and when you’re in the way, you compromise their ability to do their jobs.

The Red Lake area is also home to dozens of volunteer fire fighters who crawl out of their warm beds in the middle of the night to head out into the cold and protect your families, homes and businesses from blazes that could easily rage out of control. They are a massive asset to this community and many of them have vehicles equipped with flashing green lights. It is not your legal responsibility to pull over for these vehicles but, as common sense dictates, pulling over is really a courtesy that should be extended especially since response time would undoubtedly be of significance to you if your garage was on fire with no water source in sight.

I guess what I’m asking is that you be an active driver (all of the time) and that, if you see lights and sirens, you clear the roadway by pulling over to the shoulder. It really could be a life or death situation and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wouldn’t want to be the one slowing them down so get out of the way!

Letters to the Editor can be submitted via news@thenorthernsun.com