Vancouver firefighters took to social media to remind the public of the dangers present at emergency scenes after a driver ran over and damaged a water hose.
CBC News reports that during a three-alarm fire Thursday afternoon, a driver ignored fire line tape and then proceeded down a street and over a working hose, rupturing it.
The fire department said if a vehicle drives over an active hose line pouring water on a fire, it could endanger the driver or the firefighter using it.
"It may take five extra minutes to drive around or walk around to get where you're going, but it could be the difference between a firefighter or a member of the public living or dying," Jonathan Gormick with Vancouver Fire told CBC News, adding that the $81 fine for such an act isn't much of a deterrent.
Gormick also said it's not only drivers who need to be more aware of the dangers at a fire scene but pedestrians as well. He says firefighters regularly have to stop people from walking through active scenes.
"Violating fire perimeters is a daily occurrence," he said. "What we need is for people to be a bit more situationally aware … and realize its not for inconvenience, it's for their safety, it's for our safety."
