Road users must yield to sirens- Chief Fire Officer

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle is calling on road users, especially motorists, to understand the importance of yielding to sirens. According to Gentle, it is an international rule that a vehicle with sirens sounding is proceeding to or from an emergency.

The failure of road users to yield to the sirens of emergency vehicles is one of the major challenges the Guyana Fire and the Emergency Medical Services face when responding to a call.

During an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Gentle stated that as responsible road users, “persons ought to give way to the vehicle sounding the siren.”

“There may be someone who is being taken to a hospital who needs immediate medical attention that the EMS cannot provide to them, but if they are able to transport them in a timely manner and without any delay, they can save that person’s life,” the Chief Fire Officer said.

Similar sentiments were also echoed by Medical Director of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS), Dr. Zulfikar Bux.  He explained that the EMS provide much needed first response medical attention to persons prior to them being transported to a hospital which in many times, save lives.

In a plea to the public, Dr. Bux said, “Respect the sirens and pull over because we have had accidents where members of the public instead of pulling over, were actually impeding the ambulance. There are patients in there, not just regular EMTs and civilians and we are asking members of the public to cooperate with that.”

There are laws that deal with such incidents and several persons were placed before the court for their actions or lack thereof.

Members of the public, are being urged to respect the law and always remember that emergency officers are most often attempting to save someone’s life or property.

 

By: Isaiah Braithwaite