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An Act Regarding Emergency Lights on Firefighters' Personal Vehicles Used When Responding to Emergency Calls
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2054, sub-§2, ¶F, as amended by PL 2015, c. 31, §2, is further amended to read:
 
F. Only vehicles listed in this paragraph, rural mail vehicles as provided in paragraph C, subparagraph (5) and school buses may be equipped with, display or use a red auxiliary or emergency light.
 
(1) Emergency lights used on an ambulance, an emergency medical service vehicle, a fire department vehicle, a fire vehicle, a rescue vehicle or a hazardous material response vehicle must emit a red light or a combination of red and white light.
 
(2) The municipal officers or a municipal official designated by the municipal officers, with the approval of the fire chief, may authorize an active member of a municipal or volunteer fire department to use one red or combination red and white flashing auxiliary light mounted in the windshield or on the dashboard at the front of the vehicle or 2 flashing red or combination red and white auxiliary lights mounted on the front of the vehicle above the front bumper and below the hood and one red auxiliary light mounted in the rear window area or 2 flashing red or combination red and white auxiliary lights mounted on the rear of the vehicle above the rear bumper. The light or lights may be displayed but may be used only while the member is en route to or at the scene of a fire or other emergency. A light mounted on the dashboard or in the windshield must be shielded so that the emitted light does not interfere with the operator's vision. The use of lights may be revoked at any time by the fire chief.
 
(3) Members of an emergency medical service licensed by Maine Emergency Medical Services may display and use on a vehicle red or combination red and white flashing auxiliary lights and red auxiliary lights of the same proportion, in the same location and under the same conditions as those permitted municipal and volunteer firefighters, when authorized by the chief official of the emergency medical service. The use of lights may be revoked at any time by the chief official of the emergency medical service.
 
SUMMARY
This bill allows municipal and volunteer firefighters who are responding to emergency calls in personal vehicles to use red or red and white emergency lights on the rear of the vehicles similar to those permitted to be used on the front of the vehicles.