Emergency Vehicle Lighting for Volunteer Firefighters/EMTs - Using the Color Amber in POVs

There are many colors that are used when it comes to emergency lighting. Primarily these colors are red, blue, white, and in some instances green. The use of the color amber in emergency lighting is very obscure - it's almost never seen on the front of emergency vehicles. Rather, it's generally seen in the back, and this is for a good reason.

Most people correlate the color amber with construction vehicles and sites and warning signs, which, in these cases, signifies "caution" and "slow down", whereas red, blue, white, and green lights signify an authorized emergency vehicle (the colors vary from state-to-state. Check your state's Vehicle and Traffic Law for more in-depth information for your state).

Also read: New York State: Affixed Vehicle Lighting Colors and Their Meanings

This brings us to our next point - the use of emergency vehicle lighting in personal vehicles for volunteer firefighters and/or Emergency Medical Technicians (also known as "EMTs"). While not every state allows their volunteers (it is also at the discretion of individual departments in some cases), many do. It is the sole responsibility of the volunteer to understand what colors they can affix to their vehicle (Example: Blue lights signify a volunteer firefighter in the state of New York). By affixing the wrong color the volunteer can potentially get into a lot of trouble.

Also read: Emergency Vehicle Lighting for Volunteer Firefighters and EMTs - the Pros and Cons of Personal Vehicle Lighting

The color amber is a "safe" color, as it a neutral color for vehicles to use. For example, in New York, the color amber is used in not only construction vehicles, but they can be affixed to vehicles being utilized for security, too. This is great for volunteer firefighters and EMTs, as they can safely use the color amber in their vehicles. By utilizing more than one color the vehicle has an increasing potential to capture the attention of other drivers on the roadway, making responding to the station or scene, as well as placement on a scene, safer for everyone.

With this logic it would seem that volunteers should place amber-colored emergency lights in the front of their car - this is wrong. As other vehicles (construction, tow trucks, and security) and warning signs utilize the color amber, it's more of a cautionary color rather than an emergency color. The use of the color amber should solely be used in the desk (back) of the vehicles.

It's obvious, based on precedence, that amber is insufficient in the front of vehicles - whether they are personally owned vehicles or authorized emergency vehicles. You'll probably never see amber emergency lights in the front of a police cruiser, an ambulance, fire apparatus, or first responder vehicles. Rather, their amber lights are always located on the side or on the rear of the vehicle.

Also read: Emergency Lighting for Police, Volunteer Firefighters, EMTs, and Firefighters - is Brighter Really Better?