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How many times has it irritated you to drive to your neighborhood to find a car parked in a fire lane?

"No Parking - Fire Lane" means just that. When there is a fire or related emergency, police, fire and medical vehicles need to get close enough to the buildings for rescue, fire fighting and emergency medical duties.

The Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District Fire Prevention Office reminds you that leaving your vehicle unattended in a fire lane may hamper emergency efforts. Remember, if you park there, others will think it is acceptable to park there also and it isn't. It's against the law.

Fire trucks are long, wide vehicles that require more space than most people realize to safely maneuver through intersections and corners. What may seem to be sufficient room to you may not be enough space for the fire truck. So, please, when you see NO PARKING FIRE LANE signs near a corner or bend in a street, do not think: I can park here, the fire trucks have all the space in front of the building. If vehicles park on both sides of that corner the fire trucks can not safely and promptly negotiate the turn and their response to the emergency will be delayed.

Time is Life in our profession. Any delay, no matter how short, can result in the unsuccessful administering of life saving CPR, cardiac defibrillation and other life sustaining interventions. In the case of a small room fire, with every minute, the fire triples in energy and smoke generation. Without a rapid water attack at the seat of the fire, it will swiftly grow in intensity. During the next eight minutes the temperature at the ceiling will rise to 1000°F creating a deadly phenomenon called flashover. All of the combustibles will then spontaneously ignite in a flash of flame that will cause the death of anyone in the room, fire fighter or civilian.

It may seem a bother to park far away, but emergency response vehicles arrive and become operational on the scene very quickly. People who park in fire lanes would probably have a different perspective if they ever had to move 150 feet of hose around someone's car or delivery truck to put out a fire or if they ever had to carry a severely ill or injured person to an ambulance. Every footstep makes a difference in the efficiency of fire and life safety.

The Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District Fire Prevention Office wants you to realize that these areas are important to you and your neighbors. Whether located at a place of business or residential living areas, when the fire lanes are needed they must be available. Park there illegally and it may cost you a fine, towing charge or both. More importantly, it may result in more property damage, illness, injury or someone's life.