VIDEO: Crispin Chavira is the engineer of Phoenix Fire Engine 960. โBeing an engineer means I get to drive the big red truck,โ Chavira said. Driving the big red truck is a huge responsibility. โIt can be very stressful getting to a call,โ Chavira said. โA lot of times, getting to the call can be a lot more stressful than the call itself.โ Part of the reason itโs stressful is because of other drivers.
Chavira says, on a daily basis, the majority of drivers follow the rules and move over, but a select few make it difficult. โA lot of times we see people panic, they stay still, move to the left, or try and outrun the fire truck, and all of that is very dangerous,โ Chavira said. According to Arizona law, when an emergency vehicle has lights and sirens on, drivers must yield, drive to the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway, and stop until the emergency vehicle has passed.
โA temporary delay for you may be a second chance for someone elseโs life, so if people could pull over to the right and stop for us, that would be greatly appreciated,โ Fire Captain D.J. Lee said. Lee adds that if you are in an intersection, then drivers should continue through the intersection and then pull over to the right. ABC15 rode along with Chavira as he headed to multiple emergency calls with Engine 960 on Wednesday. Chavira frequently had to avoid or go around drivers not following the law.
