The Bellefontaine Fire Department is reminding the public to be careful and give emergency responders plenty of space when they are at the scene of an incident.
On Thursday morning, while responding to a fire alarm in downtown Bellefontaine, a dangerous situation happened.
A vehicle drove around Engine 21, came very close to hitting Truck 21, and then struck a parked car. Luckily, no one was hurt.
The fire department wants to remind everyone that when fire trucks and other emergency vehicles are blocking the road, traffic must stop.
This is to keep both responders and the public safe.
If the emergency crews had needed to get something from their truck, they wouldn’t have been able to because of the vehicle blocking their access.
In 2023, 45 emergency responders were hit and killed by vehicles while working at scenes.
This includes 14 police officers, 8 firefighters/EMS workers, 20 tow truck drivers, and 3 Department of Transportation workers.
The Bellefontaine Fire Department is asking drivers to respect emergency scenes and give responders the space they need to work safely.
