Section 390.3T(f)(5) provides an exemption from the FMCSRs for the operation of fire trucks and rescue vehicles while such vehicles are being used in emergency and related operations. What is meant by the phrase “emergency and related operations?”
Section 390.3T(f)(5) provides an exemption from the FMCSRs for the operation of fire trucks and rescue vehicles while such vehicles are being used in emergency and related operations. What is meant by the phrase “emergency and related operations?”
Guidance: The term “emergency,” as used in §b390.3T(f)(5), includes any occurrence, natural or manmade, that immediately threatens human life or public welfare, and requires the work of firefighters or rescue personnel to respond to the threat. Such occurrences include, but are not limited to, fires, floods, motor vehicle crashes, and medical emergencies. An emergency, however, need not have been formally declared by a governmental authority in order to utilize this exemption. The term “related operations” includes driving fire trucks or rescue vehicles to the scene of an emergency, and driving such vehicles while returning from the emergency or rescue scene. “Related operations” does not include the pre-positioning of fire trucks or rescue vehicles in anticipation of emergencies, or the use of such vehicles in training or emergency preparedness exercises.