By Jack Minch
Lowell Sun
LITTLETON, Mass. — Some people call them ugly.
Fire Chief Stephen Carter doesn’t care. There are no style points for safety.
The backside of Engine 4 and one of the Fire Department’s two ambulances have distinctive, reflective chevrons that show off the vehicles when headlights shine on them.
It’s a good protective measure considering how many dark nights the emergency vehicles are called up to Interstate 495 for accidents.
“It’s amazing how many people think it’s ugly, but it’s also the first thing you see, and you aren’t going to run into it,” Carter said.
The chevrons, inverted “V” stripes, have been used for years in Europe.
“They say the incidence of accidents of apparatus is way down as a result of chevrons,” Carter said.
Emergency equipment already use some reflective taping but chevrons offer superior safety, said Westford Fire Chief Richard Rochon.
“I think it’s good,” he said. “I think anybody who has been on 495 realizes it is increasingly difficult (for motorists) to see you on the highway and to provide a safe environment for firefighters and EMTs to do their jobs. With the increase in traffic on highways, it’s made it more difficult for us.”
Littleton’s Engine 4 and Ambulance 1 came with the chevrons when the department bought them in 2007.
The Westford Fire Department got a new ambulance with the chevrons about six months ago.
On Jan. 1, the National Fire Protection Association enacted a rule mandating that at least 50 percent of the rear facings on firetrucks have the reflective chevrons.
That means fire departments must retrofit their equipment to meet the standards.
There are at least four styles to choose from, Carter said.
Littleton and Westford are hiring Paint deZign of Westford to retrofit the chevrons to the next phase, using a technique that accounts for the diamond plates as well as the hand- and footholds on the trucks, said Littleton Firefighter Tom Clancy, who collected bids from four companies.
“So we will be able to go right over the existing diamond plate,” Clancy said.
Red and white chevrons are for the ambulances, red and yellow for the rear of the firetrucks, Rochon said.
Westford’s Rescue 1 is expected to go in the shop tomorrow or Tuesday to get chevrons applied. Littleton is sending an ambulance next week as well.
With time, critics who do not like the aesthetics of the chevrons will come around, Rochon said.
“I think with a lot of people, when it’s new it seems awkward and out of place, but in time I don’t think people will think much of it,” Rochon said.