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Canadian ambulance service changes flashing lights

Ottawa Paramedic Service has changed their red and white flashing lights to red and blue lights

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Ottawa Paramedic Service has changed their red and white flashing lights to red and blue lights.

Photo/Ottawa Paramedic Service

By EMS1 News Staff

OTTAWA, Canada — In an effort to increase ambulance visibility, the Ottawa Paramedic Service has changed their red and white flashing lights on new emergency vehicles to red and blue lights.

“When we’re going to these scenes, it’s really important to try to give us the right-of-way, if safe to do so,” Marc-Antoine Deschamps, Ottawa Paramedic Service, told Ottawa Matters.

The flashing lights have been red and white for decades and are being changed to not only help ambulances get to calls more quickly, but also to help avoid paramedics being hit while at emergency scenes.

The change has only been implemented on new ambulances, as the city purchases new vehicles.

The change is not just about helping ambulances respond to emergency calls more quickly, but also to avoid paramedics getting struck by vehicles while at an emergency scene.

https://twitter.com/OttawaParamedic/status/1110149894017294336