- The Brigham City Fire Department is using new technology to change traffic lights in emergencies.
- The Utah Department of Transportation's connected vehicle tech ensures safer, quicker emergency responses.
- Fire Chief Brandon Thueson highlights safety and faster response times after a prior ambulance crash prompted the change.
BRIGHAM CITY — Most drivers have sat at a red light and wished it would turn green faster. In Brigham City, firefighters and paramedics now have a way to do exactly that.
The Brigham City Fire Department recently installed new technology in its fire trucks and ambulances that can change traffic lights as emergency crews approach intersections.
With the push of a button, a red light can turn green, helping first responders get where they need to go faster.
For Brigham City Fire Capt. Race Black, those extra seconds can make a difference.
"Seconds matter a ton," said Black. "Depending on (the) distance in our district, it could save minutes."
The system works through transponders installed in emergency vehicles and receivers placed at intersections throughout the city.
As crews respond to emergencies, the technology communicates with traffic signals and changes the light in their favor.
Brigham City Fire Chief Brandon Thueson said the department began exploring the technology after one of its ambulances was involved in a crash at an intersection last year.
"That started the process of us thinking, how do we avoid this in the future?" said Thueson. "(At) the intersection where we had the vehicle collision, there are over 24,000 vehicles that pass through that intersection every single day. That's just increasing as growth happens around us. This helps make things safer."
The city partnered with the Utah Department of Transportation and spent the past year getting the system installed.
Thueson said improving response times was important, but so was making emergency responses safer for crews and the public.
"We are super excited about this," he said. "Everything we do in our line of work is about time. Time is the most important thing."
That urgency is especially important during medical emergencies.
"When a person suffers a cardiac arrest, tissue and muscle damage starts within a few minutes," said Jami Cottle, CEO of MountainStar Healthcare's Brigham City Community Hospital. "With every minute that passes, that patient becomes more critical."
Firefighters said the technology does not replace safe driving practices at intersections.
Crews will still approach intersections carefully, but having traffic stopped in other directions provides additional confidence.
"It doesn't change the fact that we're still going to be making sure nobody is moving, but it'll kind of give us more peace of mind that it should be green and everybody should have reds," said Black.
Right now, the technology is being used in Brigham City for fire trucks and ambulances. Police cars might be next.
UDOT stated other communities interested in implementing similar systems can work with the agency to explore the possibility.
"We have been deploying this technology, we call it connected vehicle technology, for a number of years," said UDOT lead transportation technology manager Blaine Leonard. "The overriding theme is safety. That's really our end goal."
